Recruiting

Coaching Program

Sponsor:

University of Rochester

Code:

NCT07488559

Conditions

Social Connection

Loneliness

Suicide Ideation

Social-emotional Quality of Life

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 60+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Social Engage Coaching (S-ENG)

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to test whether an individual coaching program helps adults age 60 and older feel more connected to other people in ways that matter to them.

Conditions

Social Connection

Loneliness

Suicide Ideation

Social-emotional Quality of Life

Study ID

NCT07488559

Start date

Jun 30, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 60+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion criteria:

  • Age 60 or older
  • Access to social activities outside the home, including through living in senior living communities
  • Clinically-significant loneliness over the prior month.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Current problem drinking
  • Psychosis
  • Significant cognitive impairment
  • Hearing problems that preclude engagement with S-ENG and research assessors.

Study Design

Enrollment

120 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Engage Coaching

Engage Coaching

no intervention: Waitlist Control

Study intervention (coaching) is provided after study completion (assessments)

Interventions

Social Engage Coaching (S-ENG)

Social Engage Coaching (S-ENG) involves 10 individual coaching sessions focused on increasing social connection. S-ENG is a stepped, modular intervention that was developed to allow personalization to a given subject's needs, preferences, and individualized barriers to social connection. Early sessions include psychoeducation on the importance of social connection; a values clarification exercise on aspects of connection most important to subjects; and assessment of current social networks and social activities. Together, the coach and subject create a conceptualization of reasons for loneliness and identify personalized activities most likely to impact loneliness. The primary activity is 'action planning,' which involves selecting a social goal for the week, brainstorming ways to meet the goal, identifying barriers, and selecting specific actions to take before the next session. The first 8 sessions are offered weekly and the final two are monthly booster sessions.

Primary outcome measure

  • Loneliness [ Time Frame: 8-week follow-up ]
  • Belonging [ Time Frame: 8-week follow-up ]
  • Time in conversations [ Time Frame: 8-week follow-up ]
  • Time outside the home [ Time Frame: 8-week follow-up ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

University of Rochester

Recruiting

Rochester, New York, United States, 14642

Contacts

Kimberly Van Orden, PhD

(585) 273-1811hope@urmc.rochester.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Rochester

Last update posted

Aug 17, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • Loneliness
  • Older adults
  • Ecological momentary assessment
  • Engage Psychotherapy
  • Late-life suicide

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Rochester on 2026-08-17.