Depending on your appetite for 80s powerballad stars (Bonnie Tyler), you might think the UK has real Eurovision hopes this weekend. Or, you may have recently voted UKIP. When tackling isolation and loneliness is the issue, the UK is among the leading lights of Europe in tackling loneliness through partnership, campaigning and creating change in the corridors…
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“More people will reach their 65th birthday in the UK this year than at any other point in history.” So starts the Mental Health Foundation’s latest report, Getting On…with life, which looks at how our baby boomer generation can maintain good mental health as they age. Those born between 1946 and 1955 are a unique…
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100 local authorities in England have been invited to apply to the Big Lottery Fund’s Ageing Better (social isolation) programme by 17 May with an Expression of Interest (EOI). Many of the sections of the EOI require a summary of quite detailed knowledge from your own area. We have compiled relevant content from our website,…
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This week, new research on loneliness and isolation in older age in England from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA) have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Based on data gathered in 2009-2010, we now know: 25 per cent of people aged over 52 report feeling lonely sometimes and only 9…
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A new publication released by the Alzheimer’s Society today reports that 38% of people with dementia say that they are lonely, with a further 12% reporting they do not know if they are lonely. More than two-thirds (70%) of people with dementia have stopped doing things that they used to do after diagnosis. Based on…
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…but isolation might be a better (easier…?) way of predicting whether you will die earlier… A recent study, by a team at University College London, follows many years of of research showing that both loneliness and infrequent contact with friends and family can, independently, shorten a person’s life. Professor Steptoe, who led the research, says…
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Today, the Big Lottery Fund announces a new fund to tackle social isolation. As with every new idea, announcement, organisation, method or local initiative – the more the merrier. Around 3 million (30%) of those over 65 are lonely and with a growing older population, there is a risk that this number will increase in…
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The Office of National Statistics announced today that those in older age groups value friendships and local associations more than younger people (64% of those aged 50 to 54 to over 80% of those aged 70 and over). This may not be surprising; those in the younger age group are still likely to be engaged…
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Results from a new survey of over 1,000 older people released today suggest that people aged over-65s spend on average over 6 waking hours alone every day. Added up, this is equates to a significant 99 days a year. The survey also found that 24% reported feeling lonely “some or most of the time” and…
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