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To conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Homebound Elderly People Psychotherapeutic Intervention (HEPPI) among homebound older adults with mild cognitive impairment and depressive or anxious symptomatology. Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group or to the wait-list control group and completed baseline and post-intervention assessments. Feasibility and acceptability were the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included changes in cognitive function, depressive and anxiety symptoms, subjective memory complaints, functional status, and quality of life. Intervention effects were assessed both at a group level (two-way mixed ANOVA) and at an individual level (Reliable Change Index). The HEPPI was a feasible and acceptable non-pharmacological intervention. Compared to the wait-list control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in cognitive, emotional, and functional domains at post-intervention. Differences between groups in the distributions by clinical change categories were observed. Results provide evidence of the HEPPI's feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in increasing the cognitive and functional performance of homebound older adults and reducing their psychological symptomatology. Home-delivered cognitive-emotional interventions may be a promising and acceptable mental health approach for homebound older adults, improving their cognitive and emotional functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A home-delivered non-pharmacological intervention contributed to reducing the immediate total and social loneliness of homebound older adults. • The decrease in perceived social loneliness mediated the improvement of depressive symptom levels. • Social loneliness may be a relevant target of intervention to improve depressive symptomatology. The present study aimed to explore whether the Homebound Elderly People Psychotherapeutic Intervention (HEPPI), a home-delivered ten-week cognitive-emotional intervention, was effective in reducing self-reported loneliness among homebound older adults presenting mild cognitive impairment and psychological symptomatology. Effects of HEPPI in total, social, and emotional loneliness, compared with a treatment-as-usual group, were investigated at post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. In addition, the potential role of social and emotional loneliness as mediators of the HEPPI impact on episodic memory and symptoms of depression and anxiety was examined. This study built upon the data of a previously conducted randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to the HEPPI group (n = 98) or the treatment-as-usual group (n = 101) and completed baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments, including measures of loneliness (UCLA - Loneliness scale), episodic memory (Wechsler Memory Scale-III), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-30), and anxiety symptoms (Geriatric Anxiety Inventory). Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis employing linear mixed models and mediation analyses for repeated measures. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05499767. Compared with usual care controls, the HEPPI participants reported a significant immediate decrease in total and social loneliness, but these effects were not maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The reduction in immediate perceived social loneliness significantly mediated the improvement of depressive symptoms. The current findings suggest that HEPPI potentially reduced total and social loneliness of the homebound older population immediately post-intervention, and such decrease in social loneliness may be a relevant mechanism for improving their short-term depressive symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]