Report looks at isolation, loneliness among older adults

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies), with support from the AARP Foundation, released a report entitled “Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System.”

The National Academies highlight severe health impacts of social isolation and loneliness, particularly among low-income, underserved and vulnerable subpopulations. The report explicitly calls out LGBT, minority and immigrant older people as those who may face barriers to care, stigma and discrimination, and makes significant recommendations in terms of responsive research and funding.

Among other key points, the report highlights that “individuals who identify as LGBTQ are more likely to say there are lonely.” The LGBT-related findings of the National Academies are consistent with SAGE’s experience working with tens of thousands of LGBT older adults across the country as well as the small but growing body of research documenting that particular challenges that LGBT elders face as they age. (The New York City-based SAGE is the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ older people.)

The report is at http://NAP.edu/catalog/25663/social-isolation-and-loneliness-in-older-adults-opportunities-for-the.