Social Isolation

Thank you to all of the states and organizations who have responded with activities, ideas, and actions taken to address social isolation for older adults during the COVID-19 crisis. The following document combines responses received thus far. Please continue to submit state, CBO, and facility activities to ADvancing States so that we may continue to share practices from across the country. Thank you for all you are doing to help decrease loneliness in older adults! UPDATED: 10.14.20

This paper explores mid-life and older Americans' knowledge of the risk factors of social isolation. Overall, people tended to underestimate the health dangers of social isolation. Many people also incorrectly believed that social isolation is brought on by a single event, such as the death of a spouse. In reality, social isolation is often the result of a variety of factors.

Previous studies have demonstrated that socially isolated older adults are at greater risk for poor health and death than their well-connected counterparts. The AARP Public Policy Institute has released a new report that examines whether social isolation also affects health care spending among older adults, and finds that a lack of social contacts among older adults is associated with an estimated $6.7 billion in additional Medicare spending annually.