No one should have no one: working to end loneliness amongst older people

Author(s)

MORTIMER Jill

Publisher(s):

Age UK

Publication year:

2016

This report aims to raise awareness about the importance of addressing chronic loneliness amongst older people. It looks at recent initiatives of Age UK and includes early findings from ‘Testing Promising Approaches to Reducing Loneliness’, an Age UK programme with eight local Age UKs developed to services to find and help older people experiencing loneliness. Taking a community-based approach to combatting widespread loneliness the programme been successfully reduced isolation among the majority of trial participants. The programme identified learning in a number of areas, including: the benefits of building, developing and joining up local services rather than introducing a range of new services; the need for training to carry out guided conversations to identify people’s needs; that phone calls play an important role as part of a range of services; that there are costs involved in supporting networks and volunteers; and measuring levels and changes in loneliness. The report also highlights the action local councillors and MPs can take to prevent and tackle loneliness. (Edited publisher abstract)