Olujoke Fakoya
Olujoke is a PhD student at the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University of Belfast. Her research focuses on increasing the understanding of the mechanisms underlying interventions that are designed to alleviate loneliness and social isolation among the older population of individuals aged 65 years and above.
Tailoring interventions for social isolation and loneliness
The individuality of experiences of loneliness and social isolation makes it difficult to deliver standardized interventions. A study published today in BMC Public Health looks at the need to tailor interventions to suit the needs of individuals. Author Olujoke Fakoya tells us more about the study in this blog.
Painting by author Olujoke Fakoya
Most individuals experience loneliness at some point in their lifetime but many will not admit to this experience due to the stigma surrounding it. Often, the terms ‘loneliness’ and ‘social isolation’ are used interchangeably even though there are some differences. For example, loneliness is viewed as a subjective experience that tends to occur when an individual has limited companionship and little or no emotional and social support. Social isolation, on the other hand, is considered to occur when there is lack of social contact and interaction with family, friends or the wider community. Hence, it is possible for an individual to have a large number of social connections and still feel lonely, or to be isolated but not experience loneliness.
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