Cheng, Ka ManZhao, Ivy YanManeze, DellaHolroyd, EleanorLeung, Angela Yee Man2025-04-162025-04-162024-07-29International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, ISSN: 1445-8330 (Print); 1447-0349 (Online), Wiley, 33(6), 2284-2292. doi: 10.1111/inm.133981445-83301447-0349http://hdl.handle.net/10292/19100Loneliness has become a significant public health issue among community-dwelling older adults particularly those with multimorbidity. Family caregivers are crucial care resources for dependent older adults living in the community before transitioning to institutional services. However, understanding of their perceptions in supporting older adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness is limited. This qualitative study aimed to elucidate on the experiences of caring and explore the experiences and perceptions of family caregivers in supporting older community-dwelling adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness. Eleven family caregivers, aged 51-93 years old, with at least 2 years of caregiving experience were purposively recruited and interviewed individually. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was utilised to report the study. Three key themes were generated from the inductive analysis: (1) recognising older adults' loneliness through the expression of unusual emotions, behaviour/s, social network alteration and speech; (2) variations in perceptions and responses to loneliness among different family caregiving relationships; and (3) challenges in addressing loneliness. Positive feedback from cared-for older adults was appreciated by their family caregivers which in turn motivated further actions to alleviate loneliness. The findings emphasised the importance of developing specific patients and family caregivers centred interventions, such as communication skills training to enhance effective communications. Cultural values and norms of individuals should be respected in those interventions, ensuring that emotional expression is facilitated in a comfortable way for both older patients and family caregivers.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ageing‐in‐placefamily caregiverlonelinessmultimorbidityolder adults4203 Health Services and Systems4205 Nursing42 Health SciencesCaregiving ResearchHealth ServicesBehavioral and Social ScienceAgingClinical Research7.1 Individual care needsGeneric health relevance3 Good Health and Well Being1110 Nursing1117 Public Health and Health Services1701 Psychology3904 Specialist studies in educationHumansLonelinessAgedMaleFemaleCaregiversMiddle AgedAdaptation, PsychologicalAged, 80 and overQualitative ResearchInterviews as TopicSocial SupportHumansAdaptation, PsychologicalLonelinessQualitative ResearchSocial SupportAgedAged, 80 and overMiddle AgedCaregiversFemaleMaleInterviews as TopicJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1111/inm.13398