Wondering how you can help your community be connected? Check these resources to see what other researchers are studying and writing.
A study by researchers at the USC Center for Body Computing shows access to rideshares can help older adults access medical care and reduce their social isolation.
Using an app, Mon Ami pairs California’s Bay Area students with elderly people to support their emotional wellbeing.
McGregor is one of 18 rural communities running the program called AGE to age. It connects more than 4,000 youths with almost 2,500 older adults annually.
In the study sponsored by the AARP, researchers from the University of Michigan surveyed a group of about 2,000 Americans ages 50 to 80. More than a third of seniors in the poll said they felt a lack of companionship at least some of the time, and 27% said they sometimes or often felt isolated; most of the people who said they lacked companionship also felt isolated, and vice versa. Almost 30% said they socialized with friends, family or neighbors once a week or less.
Loneliness is an epidemic with real public health consequences. Friends alone can’t solve it
Recent research indicates that loneliness and social isolation are risk factors for depression, impaired cognitive performance, dementia progression, compromised immune system, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and an overall increased mortality risk.
Being socially active in your 50s and 60s may help lower the risk of developing dementia in later life, a study has found.
