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Social isolation and loneliness
Introduction
Older people are especially vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation – and it can have a serious effect on health. According to Age UK, more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. People can become socially isolated for a variety of reasons, such as getting older or weaker, no longer being the hub of their family, leaving the workplace, the deaths of spouses and friends, or through disability or illness.
Social isolation and loneliness are important, but often neglected, social determinants of health across all ages, including for older people. High-quality social connections are essential to our mental and physical health and our overall well-being.
There is a clear link between loneliness and poor mental and physical health. A key element of the Government's vision for social care is to tackle loneliness and social isolation, supporting people to remain connected to their communities and to develop and maintain connections to their friends and family.
In the context of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030), WHO is working with partners to address social isolation and loneliness as pressing public health and policy concerns by:
- Developing guidance on how to implement and scale up effective interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness;
- Improving research and strengthening the evidence for what works; and
- Creating a global coalition to increase the political priority of social isolation and loneliness among older people.
Data Overview
According to the Sport England Active Lives Survey, 8.5% of adults in Oldham feel 'lonely often' or 'always' in 2022/23-2023/24 (Figure 1a below). This is higher than the averages for all other geographies shown. Since 2019/20-2020/21 Oldham's rate has increased more than one-quarter from 6.7% to 8.5% in the most recent period.
Figure 1b below shows that across the ten boroughs comprising Greater Manchester Oldham's rate of 8.5% (2022/23-2023/24) was ranked fourth highest. Salford had the highest proportion of 9.8% and Stockport the lowest with 5.0%.
Figure 1c below shows that Oldham had the seventh lowest rate (8.5%) witihin its CIPFA cluster of nearest statistical neighbours in 2022/23-2023/24. Kingston-upon-Hull (10.4%) had the highest rate and Kirklees (6.9%) the lowest - albeit marginally, Kirklees was the only local authority within this cluster to record a rate below the national average.
The Adult Social Care Survey (for service users) asks the question, "Thinking about how much contact you've had with people you like, which of the following statements best describes your social situation?". The measure below represents those who answered "I have as much social contact as I want with people I like". This measure applies to those people aged 18 years and older who are in receipt, at the point that data are extracted, of long-term support services funded or managed by social services following a full assessment of need. Figure 2a below illustrate trends from 2010/11 to 2023/24 and shows that 45.0% of Oldham's adult social care users (18+) have as much social contact as they would like. Oldham has a slightly lower but similar rate to the regional (46.4%) and national (45.6%) averages. Oldham's most recent rate represents an increase of approximately one-quarter when compared to 35.5% in 2010/11.
Figure 2b below shows that Oldham has the fourth lowest proportion of respondents who felt they had 'as much social contact as they would like' across Greater Manchester. The best (highest) rate was found in Wigan (50.7%) and the lowest was in recorded amongst Manchester respondents (40.1%).
Figure 2c below shows that Oldham had the 6th lowest rate (45.0%) amongst its cluster of CIPFA nearest statistical neighbours in 2023/24. Sandwell (54.3%) recorded the highest rate and Rochdale (40.4%) the lowest.
The measure below represents those who answered "I have as much social contact as I want with people I like". Figures 3a and 3b below this measure focus on those people aged 65 years and over who are in receipt, at the point that data are extracted, of long-term support services funded or managed by social services following a full assessment of need. Figure 3a below (2014/15 to 2022/23) shows that 38.7% of Oldham's adult social care users (65+) have as much social contact as they would like but was lower than the regional (44.4%) and national (41.5%) averages. Oldham's most recent rate represents a decrease of more than one-quarter when compared to 53.8% in 2019/20.
Figure 3b below shows that Oldham has the fifth lowest proportion of respondents (65+) who felt they had 'as much social contact as they would like' across Greater Manchester. The best (highest) rate was found in Salford (47.1%) and the lowest was in recorded amongst Manchester respondents (34.1%).
Figure 3c below shows that Oldham had the 4th lowest rate (38.7%) amongst its cluster of CIPFA nearest statistical neighbours in 2022/23. Kingston-upon-Hull (49.1%) recorded the highest rate and Bolton (35.5%) the lowest.
Latest figures for 2023/24 reveal Oldham to have a significantly lower percentage of adult carers aged 18+ reporting they are satisfied with their level of social contact compared regional and national rates. Figure 4a below shows that since 2012/13 Oldham's rate dropped by 13.2 percentage points - more than one-third lower in the most recent period.
Figure 4b below shows that Oldham has the lowest proportion of adult carers (18+) who felt they had 'as much social contact as they would like' across Greater Manchester. The best (highest) rate was found in Bolton (32.5%) and the lowest was in recorded amongst Oldham respondents (23.5%).
Figure 4c below shows that Oldham had the 3rd lowest rate (23.5%) amongst its cluster of CIPFA nearest statistical neighbours in 2023/24. Stoke-on-Trent (44.7%) recorded the highest rate and Luton (21.1%) the lowest.
Further Information & Resources
This report contains findings from the Adult Social Care Survey 2023-24 (ASCS). The national survey takes place every year and is conducted by Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs).
The survey seeks the opinions of service users aged 18 and over in receipt of long-term support services funded or managed by social services and is designed to help the adult social care sector understand more about how services are affecting lives to enable choice and for informing service development.
NHS advice on dealing with loneliness and social isolation.
This document describes the plan for a Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), which will consist of 10 years of concerted, catalytic, sustained collaboration. Older people themselves will be at the centre of this plan, which will bring together governments, civil society, international agencies, professionals, academia, the media and the private sector to improve the lives of older people, their families and their communities. It is the second action plan of the WHO Global strategy on ageing and health, building on the United Nations Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and aligned with the timing of the United Nations Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
This advocacy brief on social isolation and loneliness among older people highlights the growing public health and policy concern about these issues, which have been made more salient by the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief summarizes the scale, impact, and harms of social isolation and loneliness among older people, and outlines what can be done to reduce them. This brief also describes several policy windows that offer opportunities for addressing social isolation and loneliness among older people and proposes a three-point global strategy for tackling these issues.