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Sign in or register for an accountSocial isolation and loneliness are different, although many people who experience one will also experience the other. Social isolation concerns the level of contact someone has with other people, whilst loneliness is a subjective feeling of a lack of sufficient social or close personal relationships. Loneliness has further been differentiated into social loneliness and emotional loneliness.
There is a body of research evidence that demonstrate that social isolation and loneliness among adults and older people are risk factors to morbidity and mortality, poor mental health outcomes (for example depression and anxiety) and poor quality of life.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), social isolation and loneliness can increase the risk of developing dementia to up to 50%, the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease to up to 30%, and the risk of early death to up to 25%.
Social isolation and loneliness can be exacerbated by factors such as pre-existing long-term conditions, emotional tragedies (for example loss of spouse), and other negative lived experiences. Therefore, they do not only have detrimental effects on individuals’ health and wellbeing, but they also have a significant impact on social care provision in relation to both financial costs and resources.
The latest Community Live Survey (CLS) report published in December 2024 gives the proportion of Salford respondents aged 16 yrs+ who reported to be experiencing loneliness ‘often or always’ (also called chronic loneliness) in 2023-24 as 9.0%. That was higher, although not significantly higher, than the England average of 7.1%, and the second highest proportion in Greater Manchester (GM) after Manchester (9.6%). Stockport had the least proportion of self-reported chronic loneliness in GM (4.1%).
Another measure of indirect loneliness from the same survey shows 10.3% of Salford residents reported high levels of indirect loneliness in 2023-24, which was similar to the England average of 9.6%.
This indirect measure of loneliness is based on responses to the following three survey questions, which relate to loneliness without directly asking about it:
National figures show that adults aged 16-34 years were significantly more likely to experience chronical loneliness than individuals aged 35-49, 50-64 and older people aged 65+.
[Download the chronic loneliness chart data, csv format, 1kb]
In comparison to the previous CLS survey results from 2021-22, data show that the proportion of individuals aged 35 to 49 who reported chronic loneliness nationally rose from 6.1% to 7.6%, in 2023-24. There was no significant change in the other age groups. There was no age-related data available at local authority level.
Nationally, younger adults are most affected by high levels of indirect loneliness. The age groups with the highest rate were 16-24 years (11.9%), 25-34 years (11.4%), and 35-39 years (10.9%). This last age band saw the only rise since 2020-21.
Research commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to investigate the factors associated with loneliness in adults found that, after accounting for other factors, 16-34 year old adults had the highest risk of loneliness, being 5.4 times more likely to be lonely compared to those aged 65 and over. Individuals aged 35-49 were 4.1 times more likely to experience loneliness, those aged 50-64 were 2.9 times more likely than the over-65s.
Also, some of the other groups identified among the most at risks of chronic loneliness included:
For young adults, additional risk factors are, being female, and having a low income.
There is limited literature on the prevention of loneliness. The risk factors outlined above can help identify groups most likely to be affected but anyone could be affected. For many people it will be a temporary feeling, triggered by events or changes in life circumstances, whilst for others loneliness is chronic, or a feeling that persists all the time.
The NHS provides tips to deal with loneliness and a UK Government evaluation of interventions to tackle loneliness was published in 2023. Many of the interventions look to reduce social isolation trough building an individual’s network, categorised as ‘Connector’, ‘Supported socialisation’, ‘Community groups / Groups’ or more intensive ‘One-to-one approaches’. Many services aimed at people who may be at risk of social isolation or loneliness will have the reduction of these harms as a secondary aim.
In 2023 Salford’s Public Health department commissioned Age Friendly Salford to deliver a programme of work that connects the World Health Organization’s (WHO) eight age friendly domains to four co-designed visions specific to Salford. The service works across the eight Local Authority neighbourhoods of Salford to provide universal support for older people. The key areas of focus for the programme of work are:
The Campaign to End Loneliness Measurement Tool is used when measuring outcomes of the programme.
The Salford All Age Mental Health Commissioning Strategy (Adobe PDF format) recognises the need to include loneliness in a mental health strategy and strategic vision, has a focus on social inequality and social isolation and notes the impact of feeling lonely on the population and on mental health.
Recommendations include focus on the person, community and connection with specific reference to commissioning approaches to reduce isolation and increase social interaction as well as navigation of care support for people in the community diagnosed with dementia and their carers.
Salford has a number of services which can help people to make meaningful connections and offer a person-centred approach in their delivery to connect people to activities and services which may benefit them. These include:
Volunteering offers vital help to people in need, worthwhile causes, and the community. Many people who are lonely and isolated lack the confidence to try new groups or activities on their own. Giving to others can also help protect your own mental and physical health. Salford CVS hosts a volunteering opportunities portal for the city.
Salford Youth Service plays a critical role in tackling loneliness among children and young people in the borough. The service works across Salford to deliver the National Youth Work Curriculum which is based on the ‘cornerstones’ of education, equality and inclusion, empowerment and participation, all of which serve directly to respond to the issue of loneliness.
Salford Community Voluntary Sector (CVS) supports a variety of community initiatives which aim to tackle loneliness such as ‘the chatty café’ at Pavilion Café in Parr Fold Park, ‘chatty benches’ in a number of parks across the city, including Peel Park, Buile Hill Sensory Garden, Green Grosvenor Park, Chimney Pot Park and Ordsall Park.