Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Tom scharf loneliness and isolation
Similar to Tom scharf loneliness and isolation (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Tom scharf loneliness and isolation
- 1. Loneliness and isolation in later life Thomas Scharf Professor of Social Gerontology, Newcastle University @TomScharfNcl AGE HAPPY! SEARCH – Conference to celebrate 40 years of community work, Newcastle Upon Tyne, 30 September 2019
- 2. Outline •Understanding loneliness and isolation •What do we know about loneliness? •Impacts •Prevalence •Responses •Conclusions: some difficult questions
- 3. Quiz 1. What proportion of people aged 65 and over are often/always lonely in England? a) Under 10% b) 10-19% c) 20-29% d) 30-39% e) 40% or more
- 4. Quiz 2. What proportion of people aged 75 and over are never lonely in England? a) 14% b) 24% c) 34% d) 44% e) 54%
- 5. Quiz 3. Loneliness rates among older people in the UK have increased substantially since the 1940s a) True b) False
- 6. Quiz 4. Which of the following health conditions are associated with loneliness? a) Sleep disorders b) Cardiovascular disease c) High blood pressure d) Dementia e) Depression
- 7. Quiz 5. In which of the following countries/regions is loneliness in later life most prevalent? a) Western Europe (e.g. UK, Ireland, Germany, France) b) Southern Europe (e.g. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece) c) Northern Europe (e.g. Denmark, Finland Norway, Sweden)
- 10. What do we know about loneliness and isolation?
- 12. Loneliness
- 13. Social isolation
- 15. Emotional loneliness Well, since my baby left me Well, I found a new place to dwell Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel Where I’ll be--where I get so lonely, baby Well, I’m so lonely I get so lonely, I could die Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel, 1956
- 16. Livin’ alone I think of all the friends I’ve known But when I dial the telephone Nobody’s home All by myself Don’t want to be, all by myself anymore Eric Carmen, All By Myself, 1975 Social loneliness
- 19. Chronic loneliness Now no one’s knocked upon my door For a thousand years or more All made up and nowhere to go Welcome to this one man show The Police, So Lonely, 1978
- 20. Seasonal loneliness Try to imagine a house that's not a home Try to imagine a Christmas all alone That's where I'll be since you left me My tears could melt the snow What can I do without you? I've got no place, no place to go It'll be lonely this Christmas without you to hold It'll be lonely this Christmas Lonely and cold Mud - Lonely This Christmas, 1974
- 21. Only 85 days until Christmas…
- 22. What are the impacts of loneliness?
- 23. Individual impacts 26% increased risk of death = 15 cigarettes a day…
- 24. Individual impacts •Physical health conditions •sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure etc. •Mental health conditions •dementia, depression, suicide etc
- 25. Broader impacts •Families, friends and neighbours •Communities •Society •Care services •GP consultations •Emergency hospital admissions •Institutional care
- 26. How many people are lonely in later life?
- 27. Prevalence of loneliness by age Source: Community Life Survey, August 2016 to March 2017 (ONS, 2018)
- 28. •Surveys since the 1940s broadly consistent •7-10% of older people in the UK often or always lonely
- 29. Risk of loneliness greater… •75 and over •Living alone •Widowed, divorced/separated, never married •Poor physical and/or mental health •Low incomes •Disadvantaged urban communities
- 30. National variation Where is there more loneliness?
- 31. Difficult questions… •Loneliness and/or social isolation? •Social and/or emotional loneliness? •When and where to intervene? •Who to target? •How to intervene without stigmatising lonely people?
Editor's Notes
- 32