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“ The most terrible poverty ”: loneliness in later life Alcohol and older people Paul Cann, 15 December 2011. www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk. So who are the new old ?. Paul Cann ‘Marketing’, 8 th Annual Conference May 2009.
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“The most terrible poverty”:loneliness in later lifeAlcohol and older peoplePaul Cann, 15 December 2011 • www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
So who are the new old ? Paul Cann ‘Marketing’, 8th Annual Conference May 2009
“National disgrace of our older people’s isolation” (Julia Neuberger, 2007) • What we mean • How common • Who • Why • How we can reduce it • Whose problem? “That awful loneliness…like the cold space between planets” (Hilaire Belloc) • www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
What are we talking about ? Distinct from, but related to… • Isolation • Social exclusion • Happiness • Well-being The painful sense of a gap in your life between the number and quality of contacts you have and want
TheCampaign • A mass movement • Here for the long term • Roots in research • Raising awareness • What works • Future-proofing • Vision • www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
Whatdoesitmean ? “I’ve gone three years without hardly ever talking to anyone” “I get lonely. You can’t help it. The worst day is Sunday – that’s my worst day” “Quality of life ends for me at 6 pm” “I go in the car and sit in the supermarket car park where there are lots of people and traffic, and that helps”
What does it mean ? • As big a risk to health as smoking and obesity • A doubled risk of Alzheimer’s disease • Greater likelihood of unhealthy life style • Damage to immune and CV system • Clear link to depression
Who does it affect ? • 8-10% feel lonely “always or often” • 1 million in the UK • Fewer ‘never lonely’, more ‘sometimes’ • More evidence needed on the journey • Variations eg “tv as company”
….as individuals…. “I know people contribute a lot toward making your life, but I do think you’ve got to try and make a life for yourself as well. I mean, I for one would not sit here for 3 weeks on my own with no one to talk to. I’ve got a free bus pass and I would go to…one of the big places ‘cause there is always somebody that will talk to you”
…..through interventions…. (health warning: there is limited evidence of success) • Effective interventions are.. - often group interventions with a focused educational input or provide targeted support activities • Target specific groups eg the widowed, physically inactive etc • Representative of the target group • Consultation and control by the targeted • Developed within an existing service
….through policy and practice • ending age discrimination • ensuring decent income • homes and neighbourhoods • prevention: words not deeds • connecting
…all together……. • Retirement • Finding new contribution • Moving on or staying put • Becoming a carer • Onset of care needs • Bereavement • Dying “Safeguarding the convoy”
Here for the long term • Filling the gaps • Sharing what we already know • Helping knowledge travel: a learning hub? • Partnership: can it really happen “All my life I’ve been needed one way of an other. We need to be needed” Help the Aged 2008 • www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
“Public health” vs “nanny state” • Perspectives on time: “suddenly everything matters now” • Attitudes to risk, responsibility and older people: “my life, my choice” Are we looking at symptoms or causes ?
“There are probably thousands like her. Men and women who have lived a lot and loved a lot. Men and women who are not yet done with being ferocious and bright, but for whom time now stands empty as they wait in homes full of silence; their only misunderstanding to have lived in an age when they are no longer coveted by a society addicted to youth” Dr IshaniKar-Purkayastha • www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
