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Dangers Of Loneliness And Social Isolation

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As the UK population rapidly ages, one of the biggest challenges faced by the society is that of loneliness and social isolation consequently the issue must be addressed in the interest of the wider population and community. “Loneliness” is a subjective feeling of a loss of meaningful social relationships, while “social isolation” is an objective measurement indicating a lack of social interaction and relationships which could be caused by deterioration in health (Biordi and Nicholson 2008). By responding to the issues of loneliness and social isolation, it is possible that the quality of life for older people could be improved thereby increasing the level of independence towards expensive services (Ollonqvist et al 2008). Evidently it is estimated of those aged 65 and over between 5 and 6% of individuals expressed feelings of loneliness and 12% feel isolated. Having said that, these numbers are likely to increase due to demographic developments including family dispersal and the ageing in population as Greaves and Farbus (2006) discussed in their study. In addition reiterating acute loneliness and social isolation could have an impact on an individual’s quality of life more so creating detrimental health effects.

Loneliness and social isolation is a public health issue supported by researchers highlighting the impact of social relationships on the risk of death as opposed to risks which have already been established for example smoking and alcoholism (Greaves and Farbus

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