SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS: A PLACE-BASED PERSPECTIVE

• Published in: Innovation in aging 2017-07, Vol.1 (suppl_1), p.102-102
• Main Author: Winterton, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.426

As the population ages, more older people across the world are living alone, such that social isolation and loneliness have emerged as a key policy and practice challenge, with important implications for the health and wellbeing of older people. Thus, governments at all levels as well as major non-profit organizations have implemented a range of health promotion interventions designed to address this intransigent problem. In recent years, for example, Age UK has developed the Campaign to End Loneliness, while the Australian Red Cross is currently running a campaign called Doing it Tough designed to reduce older people’s feelings of loneliness and isolation. However, whilst researchers, policy-makers and practitioners all recognise this area as a major concern, there is an important gap in understanding of how social isolation and loneliness are impacted by the environments in which older people live. Thus, presenters at this Symposium will address this issue from a number of place-based perspectives, both across and within national boundaries, as well as across the rural / urban divide. Rurality is a particular focus as many older people across the world live in geographically isolated communities. By exploring how social isolation and loneliness may differ according to the places people live, this Symposium will challenge us to explore the design and implementation of more appropriate and effective social interventions.