Social Isolation and developing a Social Isolation Index Mark Chambers

Acknowledgements Colin Thompson, Consultant in Public Health, Kent County Council Public Health team at Essex County Council

Agenda What is social isolation? Social Isolation index methodology Results and further actions

Social isolation and loneliness Loneliness Subjective Negative feeling Associated with loss (e.g. partner or children relocating) Social isolation Objective measurement Lack or social interaction and relationships Often caused by loss of mobility or deteriorating health Cattan, M. et al. (2003) 'Alleviating social isolation and loneliness among older people', International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, vol 5, no 3, pp 20−30.

Impact on health and wellbeing Dementia Stress High blood pressure Poorer immunity Death

Who to target Risk factors Aged > 80 years On a low income Poor physical or mental health Living alone or in isolated rural areas or deprived urban areas

MOSAIC variables Widowed Lack social interaction Visually impaired Hard of hearing Age 65+ living alone Having anxiety or depression Pessimistic about future Lone parent English not main language Household without private transport Unpaid carer Retired In poor health Poor mobility Struggling financially Medway UA Essex CC

MOSAIC type SI score The sum of... o the median scores for each variable multiplied by the proportion of people expected to exhibit that characteristic for each type

LSOA score First need a table of number of households in target geographical area by LSOA and MOSAIC type Calculate the sum of... o the SI scores for each MOSAIC type multiplied by the number of households of that type in the LSOA Divide the resulting figures by the total number of households in the LSOA

Results Proportion 65+ living aloneSocial isolation 65+

Limitations MOSAIC variables quite old (Oct 2013) Selection of variables and scoring weighting is somewhat arbitrary Margin of error is unknown Resulting scores are relative not absolute Results are not ‘falsifiable’ Cannot monitor change over time

Strategy Men’s Sheds: Video “Better shed than dead”

Summary Social isolation can have a significant impact on health and well-being The literature informs who to target but not where they live Social isolation index can be a useful tool to compare areas but with limitations Social segmentation based approach takes account of people’s individual circumstances

Further reading Campaign to end loneliness SCIE briefing 39: Preventing loneliness and social isolation: interventions and outcome Medway Council Social Isolation Strategy A detailed technical guide to the production of the index is available on request from: