The purpose of this event was to inform action by national governments, local authorities, communities and civil society, the academic research community, research funders and individuals themselves.
Responses from conference attendees:
- “I always knew the importance of loneliness, now I have evidence to back up my approach”
- “We can use this in our wider inclusion agenda – and it will be very useful for fundraising”
- “We will consult with older people to find out their views, and re-commission and commission services in this area”
- “We will carry out research in the domains already identified as requiring attention – this conference helped cement our belief that gaps are there to be addressed”
- “I will contact the Health and Wellbeing Board in my area about this issue”
The programme combined contributions from some of the leading academics in the field with several interactive sessions exploring specific themes including: who is most at risk? What are the health impacts? What works in reducing loneliness? How can we prevent loneliness in later life?
A full agenda for the event can be downloaded here
Presentations from speakers:
- Ann Bowling, Professor of Health Sciences, Southampton University
Download
- Vanessa Burholt, Professor of Innovative Ageing, University of Swansea
Download
- John T. Cacioppo, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor and Director, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago
- Mima Cattan, Professor in Public Health (Knowledge Translation), Northumbria University
Download
- Julianne Holt Lunstad, Professor, Department of Pyschology, Bringham-Young University, Utah
Download
- Jenny de Jong Gierveld, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Social Gerontology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and Honorary Fellow, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, The Hague
Download
- Thomas Scharf, Professor of Social Gerontology and Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, National University of Ireland, Galway
Download - Christina Victor, Professor of Public Health, School of Management and Health Studies, Brunel University
Download
Workshop summaries:
There were a number of workshop discussions about research and evidence. Summaries from these workshops are here:
Investigating at risk groups
What works and with which groups
Assorted themes
Understanding loneliness – group discussions
If you would like to receive the quarterly Research Bulletin from the Campaign to End Loneliness, then sign up as a supporter here.
If you would like to join the research hub, please contact us.
