Loneliness among older adults in Europe: time to integrate health and social care

Abstract

Loneliness is a major concern for public health in contemporary societies. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to loneliness because of their reduced social connections following life changes, such as retirement. Loneliness is often investigated and discussed together with social isolation. While social isolation implies an actual lack of social connections, loneliness implies a perceived deficit of social relations regardless of the real amount of social contacts. However, since living alone may lead to loneliness, individuals can experience both loneliness and social isolation together. Loneliness is not an inevitable consequence of aging and can be tackled with various interventions that can be classified into individual- and group-based formats and can be conducted either in-person or online. In terms of contents, interventions for lonely older adults vary widely, from psychological therapies to contacts with nature and pet company. Although many lonely patients are seen in primary care settings, they are often hospitalized through emergency departments. Social prescriptions, which are more and more perceived as an important add-on to clinical treatments, are non-medical interventions designed to help patients to improve their health by linking traditional clinical practice with social activities and support services within the community. Health- and social-integrated care in the community has become a major priority among older adults to ensure their continuity and quality of care. A European model for welfare systems should be framed by a full integration of care across health and social services. Investing in integrated community care should improve the broad efficiency of the European welfare systems.

Keywords: Integrated care; Loneliness; Social isolation; Welfare.