Loneliness

Loneliness is a feeling that most people will experience at some point in their lives. When people feel lonely most or all of the time, it can have a serious impact on an individual’s well being, and their ability to function in society.

Feeling lonely frequently is linked to early deaths and its health impact is thought to be on a par with other public health priorities like obesity or smoking. Lonely people are more likely to be readmitted to hospital or have a longer stay and there is also evidence that lonely people are more likely to visit a General Practioner or Accident and Emergency and more likely to enter local authority funded residential care. At work, higher loneliness among employees is associated with poorer performance on tasks and in a team, while social interaction at work has been linked to increased productivity (OHID 2021).