Characterization of different groups of elderly according to social engagement activity patterns

Objective The aim of this research was to segment older people in subgroups with similar social engagement activity patterns in order to better target public health interventions. Design Cross-sectional data, collected in 2005 by Dutch community health services (response 79%), from 22026 independently living elderly aged 65 or older were used. Cluster analysis was performed to derive subgroups with common social engagement activity patterns, which were compared for their self-perceived health, mental health, physical health, and loneliness. Results Among the independently living older people, five subgroups were identified with different patterns of social engagement activities: less social engaged elderly, less social engaged caregivers, social engaged caregivers, leisure engaged elderly, and productive engaged elderly. The subgroups differed significantly in social engagement activities, socio-demographics, and health (p