Get Together – Understanding loneliness Public Health Wales

Social isolation and loneliness are linked with poorer health outcomes and represent a significant public health issue in Wales, where around 16% of people report being lonely.

This Public Health Wales partnership project used evidenced-based approaches to support socially isolated or lonely older people to build new friendships and social networks.

Older people living in Swansea Bay – an area with significant pockets of deprivation – were consulted as part of a co-design approach to addressing their needs and tackling isolation and loneliness.

Action for Elders established two weekly ‘Better Together’ groups led by a ‘social host’, who delivered tailored activities to 33 older men and women, supported by volunteer peer-to-peer champions – more confident group members with lived experience who could relate to others in similar situations.

Due to COVID-19, the nature of the support offered had to change radically and immediately. However, the creativity and tenacity of the social hosts ensured that face-to-face group-based activities were replaced with support for practical issues (for example food supplies, digital technology and welfare calls) and helping members to stay connected.

The project has provided insight into the nature of social isolation and loneliness, how they are different, and who is most at risk and why. This provides a roadmap for future health and wellbeing intervention design, and learning about how to ensure consideration of the sustainability of interventions to avoid unintended consequences.

A video outlining the learning from this project has been developed, with the aim of promoting further partnership working to harness community resources to combat widespread isolation and loneliness exacerbated by COVID-19.

Contact information

For more information about this project, please contact Jennifer Davies at Public Health Wales.