In 2018, the City of Vancouver Seniors’ Advisory Committee initiated a special project to investigate the causes and consequences of social isolation and loneliness among older adults, and to develop recommendations to help the City and other stakeholders reduce and, ideally, prevent these problems.
We completed our report, which includes 23 recommendations based on a detailed literature review and the insights of 200 service providers in Vancouver. City Council asked staff to review the report and to provide advice on potential next steps. Although the report was written for the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health, other jurisdictions may find it helpful as well. In addition, although the report focuses on aging, much of the material is applicable to people of all ages.
- The full report can be downloaded here. Please note that the recommendations should ideally be read in the context of the literature review, rather than separately. We emphasize this because we feel it is important to fully understand the nature of isolation and loneliness before attempting to remedy these problems. Not doing so can result in the indiscriminate application of well-meaning solutions that produce little or no lasting benefit and could carry substantial costs in terms of time and limited resources.
- For Vancouver Coastal Health’s official response to this report, see here.
- There is a brochure that accompanies this report, which you can print and share with your networks.
- PowerPoint slides from the presentation at the John K. Friesen Conference are available here.
- Please contact Eddy Elmer for PowerPoint slides from other presentations, including the May 2018 Quadra-Granville Seniors Isolation Forum and the May 2019 SILAS workshop at the University of Toronto’s National Initiative for Care of the Elderly Annual Knowledge Exchange.
- Poster by Eddy Elmer for the Canadian Association on Gerontology 2018 Conference: “Strategies for Helping Older Adults Prevent or Overcome Social Isolation and Loneliness: What Not To Do“
- Individuals looking for information about coping with isolation and loneliness, or supporting people who may be struggling with these problems, can consult recommendations 10 and 18 in the report.
Media Citations
- Vision 20/20: Zoomer asks Canadian experts to share their latest research into healthy aging. Zoomer Magazine, March/April 2020 (p. 57).
- Seniors and social isolation. Comment on the SILAS report from the Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, October 7, 2019.
- Getting to know your neighbours? There’s an app for that. Interview with Eddy Elmer on CBC Radio One, September 10, 2019.
- Social isolation and loneliness among older adults in Vancouver. Interview with Eddy Elmer on The Rational, Vancouver Co-op Radio, July 22, 2019.
- Good Neighbours, The Cinematheque, May/June 2019. [Good Neighbours is an excellent documentary about a Dutch program to combat social isolation.]
- Social isolation and loneliness among seniors in Vancouver. Research Rounds, Office of the Seniors Advocate of British Columbia, January 2019.
- Solutions for loneliness require innovation, vision. Victoria Times-Colonist, September 2, 2018.
- The Social Isolation & Loneliness Among Seniors Project, SFU GRC News, August 1 2018 (p. 6 & 19)
- Vancouver residents feel unwelcome as privately-owned public spaces spread. The Globe and Mail, July 19, 2018
- Vancouver group looks to break down social barriers among seniors. The Globe and Mail, February 27, 2018
- Fighting loneliness with a community of seniors. The Tyee, November 14, 2017
- Seniors group calls for washrooms at SkyTrain stations. Vancouver Sun, November 9, 2017
- Public toilets at future Broadway subway system sought by Vancouver civic advisors. The Georgia Strait, November 8, 2017
Other Articles, Reports, and Resources of Interest
- Loneliness Among Older Sexual and Gender Minority Adults. Presentation by Eddy Elmer for Living with Pride, March 1, 2024, Westin Bayshore Hotel, Vancouver.
- Tackling Loneliness Evidence Review, Government of the United Kingdom, Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, January 2022
- Seniors safety in a climate emergency [Motion by Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Tricia Barker to create a voluntary registration system to help contact isolated seniors during heatwaves and other emergencies.]
- Hey Neighbour Collective: Building Social Connectedness and Resilience in Multi-Unit Housing, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University
- The neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’, by Kareem Clark, The Conversation, June 28, 2021. [Explains why, from an evolutionary perspective, many people are finding it difficult to adjust to social life post-COVID. As discussed in our report, these are the same reasons some people find themselves stuck in a cycle of chronic isolation and loneliness even in normal times.]
- Technological interventions to reduce loneliness and social isolation among community-living older adults: A scoping review, Gerontechnology, June 2021.
- More green, less lonely? A longitudinal cohort study, International Jounal of Epidemiology, May 2021. [People with more green space near their home were less likely to be lonely over a four-year period, controlling for age, sex, disability, cohabitation status, children and SES. Effect stronger for people living alone.]
- Promising Approaches Revisited: Effective Action on Loneliness in Later Life, UK Campaign to End Loneliness, October 2020
- Designing Social Connection into the Planning System, The Loneliness Lab UK, October 2020
- How to make friends as an adult, by Olivia Petter, The Independent, July 30, 2020
- The psychology of loneliness, by UK Campaign to End Loneliness, July 16, 2020
- The history of loneliness, by Jill Lepore, New Yorker, April 6, 2020
- Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for loneliness: A pilot randomized controlled trial, Behavior Therapy, May 2019. [An approach that combines cognitive therapy with behavioral activation.]
- Loneliness and neighbourhood characteristics, Psychological Science, April 2019. [An interesting study suggesting that loneliness itself may negatively influence perceptions of neighbourhood characteristics. The study is based on young adults, but might apply to older adults as well.]
- Convivial City 2020, by InWithForward Consultants, February 2019. [Additional ideas on improving neighbourhood connectedness in Vancouver, based on insights from isolated and lonely people themselves.]
- A Connected Society: A Strategy for Tackling Loneliness, United Kingdom Government, October 2018
- Poor sleep triggers viral loneliness and social rejection, UC Berkeley News, August 14, 2018
- ‘My doctor thinks it’s super’: Paramedic housecall program cuts down on ER visits, CBC News, June 1, 2018
- The development of LISTEN, a novel intervention for loneliness, by Laurie Theeke & Jennifer Mallow, Open Journal of Nursing, February 2015
- Overcoming loneliness with the EASE approach, by John Cacioppo, Psychology Today, December 12, 2008. [Taking baby steps is the key to escaping the grip of loneliness.]
Suggested Books
- Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, by John Cacioppo & William Patrick, 2008.
- Lonely: A Memoir, by Emily White, 2010.
- The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-First Century, by Jacqueline Olds & Richard Schwartz, 2009.
- The Lonely City, by Olivia Laing, 2016
- Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation, by Robert S. Weiss, 1974.
About the Seniors’ Advisory Committee
The Seniors’ Advisory Committee is appointed by Vancouver City Council. Its mandate is to identify and suggest solutions to gaps and barriers that impede the full participation of older adults in all aspects of civic life.
For more information or to report any errors, please contact the author of the report, Eddy Elmer.
