Download to read offline
Tom scharf loneliness and isolation
- 1. Loneliness and isolation inlater 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 •Whatdo we know about loneliness? •Impacts •Prevalence •Responses •Conclusions: some difficult questions
- 3. Quiz 1. What proportionof 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 proportionof people aged 75 and over are never lonely in England? a) 14% b) 24% c) 34% d) 44% e) 54%
- 5. Quiz 3. Loneliness ratesamong older people in the UK have increased substantially since the 1940s a) True b) False
- 6. Quiz 4. Which ofthe 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 whichof 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 weknow about loneliness and isolation?
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15. Emotional loneliness Well, sincemy 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 thinkof 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
- 17.
- 18.
- 19. Chronic loneliness Now noone’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 toimagine 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 daysuntil Christmas…
- 22. What are the impactsof loneliness?
- 23. Individual impacts 26% increased riskof death = 15 cigarettes a day…
- 24. Individual impacts •Physical healthconditions •sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure etc. •Mental health conditions •dementia, depression, suicide etc
- 25. Broader impacts •Families, friendsand neighbours •Communities •Society •Care services •GP consultations •Emergency hospital admissions •Institutional care
- 26. How many people arelonely in later life?
- 27. Prevalence of lonelinessby age Source: Community Life Survey, August 2016 to March 2017 (ONS, 2018)
- 28. •Surveys since the 1940sbroadly consistent •7-10% of older people in the UK often or always lonely
- 29. Risk of lonelinessgreater… •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 theremore loneliness?
- 31. Difficult questions… •Loneliness and/orsocial isolation? •Social and/or emotional loneliness? •When and where to intervene? •Who to target? •How to intervene without stigmatising lonely people?
- 32.
- 33.
Editor's Notes
- #33 32