Abstract Background In the field of geriatric psychiatry, social isolation is considered an important risk factor for inducing depression and cognitive decline in later life. At present, research on elderly rehabilitation shows that environmental change therapy has great potential in improving negative emotions. However, previous achievements have mostly focused on traditional inpatient therapy, and there is relatively little research on the psychological intervention effects of the emerging consumption model of living and wellness. With the development of an aging society, how to repair the damaged sense of social belonging in elderly patients through remote living experiences has become an important issue in clinical psychiatric treatment. To this end, the study aims to explore the deep path of living and recuperation in improving social isolation among the elderly, and to delve into the mediating compensation mechanism between psychological integration and social connectivity. This study is of great significance for improving the quality of life of the elderly and preventing the deterioration of mental illnesses. Methods A study selected 120 elderly participants with significant social isolation tendencies at two large health and mental rehabilitation centers. Randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group, with 60 people in each group. The control group maintained their original home lifestyle and routine community spiritual support. The intervention group received a health and wellness consumption intervention during their stay, which included activities such as living in different places, community interaction, and structured psychological integration. The intervention duration is one month. The study utilized quantitative assessment tools for multi temporal measurement, including using the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) to assess social isolation, the Psychological Integration Scale (PIS) to measure individual psychological adaptation, and the Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) to evaluate external support intensity. Data processing applies structural equation modeling to analyze the mediating effects between variables. Results The data results showed that the UCLA-LS loneliness score of the intervention group significantly decreased from 54.12 points to 38.25 points (p.05), while the comparison of scores before and after intervention in the control group was not statistically significant (p.05). The mediation effect analysis confirms that travel intervention first significantly enhances patients' sense of psychological integration, and then indirectly reduces the experience of loneliness by enhancing social connections. The significance of the intermediary pathway indicates that the rehabilitation effect of living abroad is mainly achieved through the synergistic effect of psychological adaptation and social resource reconstruction, with a total effect value of 0.58. Discussion The consumption of living and health care can effectively break the vicious cycle of social isolation among the elderly, and its core mechanism lies in the compensatory enhancement of psychological integration and social connection. This model provides a practical basis for the transition from closed treatment to active social participation in elderly mental rehabilitation, and has high clinical practical significance. Future research directions can further focus on the differentiated effects of different living environments on the mental health of the elderly. Funding No. 21BJY098.
Xueyan Li (2026) studied this question.