ABSTRACT

Objective: This study systematically analyzed domestic and international interventions for social isolation among infants and preschool-aged children to establish clinically applicable evidence. Methods: Intervention studies on social isolation published between January 2014 and April 2024 were targeted. Searches were conducted using electronic databases, including RISS, Embase, CINAHL, PubMed, and Web of Science, with keywords such as “child,” “children,” “preschool,” “quarantine,” “social isolation,” and “loneliness.” Seven studies that met the inclusion criteria for interventions targeting preschool-aged children were selected. The selected studies were analyzed regarding their quality level, types of isolation, intervention methods, evaluation tools, and intervention effects. Results: Interventions for social isolation in preschool-aged children consisted of five facility-based and two home-based interventions. Analysis of the intervention effects revealed that the experimental groups showed significant improvements in social communication, cognition, mental health, physical health, adaptive behavior (including positive and negative behaviors), and activities of daily living compared with the control groups. Conclusion: This study systematically analyzed approaches to interventions for social isolation in preschool-aged children and provided evidence for the role and necessity of occupational therapists in addressing social isolation. These findings can serve as foundational data for the design and implementation of appropriate clinical interventions.