New Article from Surgeon General on Strategies to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness

Throughout a listening tour of the United States during his first tenure as U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy found people across the country were struggling with loneliness. Given the impact on both mental and physical health, social isolation and loneliness became some of his top priorities in his work as surgeon general.

Now in his second time serving as surgeon general, Dr. Murthy continues to focus on addressing social isolation and loneliness. In a recent article published in Public Health Reports, Dr. Murthy highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need to address social isolation and loneliness at the national and community levels. The article points to the successes Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) have had in addressing social isolation and loneliness.

Role of Area Agencies on Aging

We all know that social isolation and loneliness can negatively impact individuals. Data suggests both have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, making the case for building upon existing efforts and developing new approaches to address social isolation and loneliness. The work of AAAs in communities across the country is highlighted as a promising solution for addressing social isolation and loneliness of older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.

The article highlights the work of MAC, Inc., a Maryland AAA that also operates the Maryland Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE). The LWCE developed an application to screen social isolation risk, with the AAA providing 700 older adults with tablets that included the screening app. This helped with determining social isolation risk and connecting to social engagement opportunities during the pandemic. To help improve social connectedness, the AAA coupled the app with PEARLS, an evidence-based program that helps manage depression and improve quality of life. Based on its success, MAC, Inc. is now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies to evaluate the impact of this solution.

This is just one of the many examples of the innovative programs and interventions AAAs, Title VI programs and other Aging Network organizations are providing to address social isolation and loneliness.

Looking to the Future and How engAGED Can Help

Dr. Murthy stressed that an opportunity exists now to build upon the lessons learned and develop a coordinated approach to addressing social isolation and loneliness at every level. The article highlighted the work of the Commit to Connect campaign as one example. A public-private partnership developed by the Administration for Community Living and involving a variety of partners, including USAging and engAGED, Commit to Connect is working to organize a national approach to reduce social isolation and loneliness. Successfully addressing social isolation and loneliness will also take state and local involvement. As Dr. Murthy noted, AAAs and other community-based organizations should develop local strategies to address these two critical issues. Collaborating with community members and other stakeholders when designing solutions that are tailored for specific populations can help reach more older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.

engAGED has a variety of resources that can help community-based organizations develop strategies to address social isolation and loneliness through the promotion of social engagement. For example, the engAGED Innovations Hub offers connection to replicable local and state social engagement programs implemented by AAAs, Title VI programs and other Aging Network organizations. engAGED also developed several consumer-friendly materials AAAs, Title VI programs and other Aging Network organizations can use to reach older adults with information on social engagement.

As your organization expands and enhances social engagement opportunities for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers, stay connected with engAGED to access new resources, best practices and strategies to help your work.