Page 10 - Process_book_Carla Ann_Lloren
P. 10
2
Chapter 2 Explore
Literature Review
Why is there a need to relook at social Isolation/loneliness There is a wide range of current popular solutions
amongst older adults in Ireland? to address social isolation/loneliness amongst older
adults but issue is still prevalent in the country …
The recent study released in 2023 by the European
Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) showed loneliness
is most prevalent in Ireland relative to other European
countries. The country leads in share of respondents feeling
lonely with over 20% of participants “reported feeling lonely
most or all of the time.” (Joint Research Center, 2023).
Specific to older adults 65 years old and up, Alone’s Q1 of 2023
report supported that a lot of older adults newly getting in
touch with them have been experiencing social isolation. This is
likewise reflected in their figures where ... “36 percent of these
individuals had not engaged in social activities for more than a EXPLORE
month and a concerning nine per cent had not participated in
social activities for over a year” (Alone,2023). All of the popular solutions offer various benefits to older
adults :
The negative impact of loneliness/social isolation on health is Social groups, to meet the tribe needs; Befriending services,
well documented in many studies. It is associated with hotlines, technological interventions to rekindle human
increased risk of Dementia and associated to premature connections; Social prescribing to personalize health service
mortality (TILDA, 2021 ; Pierse et al., 2019). Further, the provided as the health need arises from physical to mental and
increase of Dementia in the country is also taking a hit on the emotional health; Skills course to fulfil the need to further
healthcare budget which is estimated to be at 1.69 billion Euro learn and Awareness Campaigns to let the people know of
per annum (Dementia Services Information and Development loneliness experiences of older adults in the country.
Centre, 2023)
Though all have its role in addressing the issue, the question
remains ... why is the number of older adults who are feeling
socially isolated/lonely still up for 2023? Why is there still a gap
in addressing this need? Are we looking at all elements that
can address this issue? What are we missing?
5
