Reducing social isolation
Loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. Research shows that loneliness is associated with a greater risk of inactivity, smoking, increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, increased risk of depression, low self-esteem, reported sleep problems and increased stress response.
There are a large range of preventative initiatives in º£½ÇÒùĸÂÒÂ× and Hove, but these are not universally available or necessarily easy to access for all who need them.
Our Ignite partnership brought the Living Lab into a community pub to explore loneliness locally and held meetings with ‘Community Connectors’ – volunteers who are vital to running a range of activities locally.
As a result of the Lab, the partnership has been in discussion with a company about trialling a telecommunication device to engage isolated citizens.