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The importance of animals: Tackling loneliness one pet at a time
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This week's blog is from Dr Marc Abraham OBE, or ‘Marc the Vet’ as he’s usually known, a multi-award-winning veterinary surgeon, author, broadcaster, and animal welfare campaigner. He writes about the human-animal bond and how this mutually beneficial relationship between people and pets results in happier, healthier lives for both parties.
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What we are thinking about
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This blog post explores the work being done across government to address the stigma of loneliness, build the evidence base, and drive a lasting shift across sectors. Five years ago, the UK published the world’s first ever cross-government strategy to tackle loneliness. Since its publication, other countries have followed suit and see this country as a leader in addressing loneliness.
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BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour recently had a series of features on loneliness. They included discussions about young women and loneliness, health and loneliness and reframing your feelings of loneliness.
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Australia has launched their first Loneliness Awareness Week (7-13 August). During the beginning of 2023, Ending Loneliness Together and the University of Sydney heard from 4,026 Australians. Insights revealed that while 1 in 3 Australians feel lonely, community misconceptions and stigma are preventing them from talking about it. The implications of not talking about loneliness are detrimental. Persistent loneliness can lead to reduced work productivity, heart conditions, mental ill health, dementia, and premature death. The Loneliness Awareness Week theme is #LonelyNotAlone, highlighting:
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- Loneliness affects people from all walks of life
- You don't have to be alone to feel lonely
- If you do feel lonely, you don't have to go it alone, help is available
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What we are reading
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This paper discusses issues relating to the high levels of loneliness experienced by young people. First, it notes the need for better definitions of chronic loneliness among young people along with the dangers of medicalising potential ‘normal feelings of loneliness’. Second, it highlights the need for interventions and resources which are better tailored and more accessible to young people in need. Third, it highlights the particular risks for loneliness for specific groups of young people including those who are subject to discrimination. This highlights the need for targeted, inclusive, accessible support services.
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Loneliness has been extensively linked to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Often defined as a subjective emotion, the influence of sex and gender has regularly been cited as vital to understanding individuals' experiences. Despite this, little research has explored men's perspectives of loneliness using interpretivist approaches. This study addresses this by exploring how gender influences men's constructions and experiences of loneliness in an interview study with a diverse sample of 20 UK-based men.
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This is a prospective longitudinal study using three waves of data from the US Health and Retirement Study of adults aged 50+. It uses an ‘outcome wide analytic approach’ to examine how changes in loneliness and social isolation are associated with 32 subsequent physical and mental health outcomes, controlling for prior loneliness and social isolation, and a comprehensive set of covariates.
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Dates for your diary
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7 September - 10.00-11.00 - Online
The Good Practice Mentor (GPM) programme is a new and innovative project that brings together legacy, learning and resources from Ageing Better, a seven year Test & Learn project that worked to reduce social isolation and loneliness in people aged over 50, and engaged more than 150,000 people in over 366 projects.
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12-14 October - 18.00-22.00 BST - Online
Building Connected Communities is hosted by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, the Foundation for Social Connection, and Healthy Places by Design with generous support from Einhorn Collaborative. Attendees are invited to participate in plenary sessions, small group workshops, and a half-day field trip to neighborhoods in Boston for learning exchanges with community organizations about their challenges and solutions to foster social connectedness.
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Save the Date - 08.02.24
Planning is underway for the next Campaign to End Loneliness international conference and we want to hear from you so we can make it the best yet! Have your say in our latest survey which will remain open until 5pm on Monday 31 August.
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Anytime - Online
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Drawing on our expertise in loneliness and connection, our Loneliness Explored e-learning module is designed to help individuals understand the risk factors for loneliness and how it can affect our mental and physical health, as well as promising approaches that can help.
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Get in touch
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Do you have news or thoughts that you would like to share with people working on loneliness and others who are interested? Email info@ctel.blazeoven.co.uk.uk
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