Shifting focus from loneliness to community health

Iit’s been a year since the US surgeon general issued a national warning about the loneliness epidemic. Other countries recognized the problem earlier: the United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness in 2018; Japan has done so in 2021. These efforts have focused attention on – and spurred action on – an important problem with serious health consequences, including increased risks of heart disease, dementia and early death. it’s time.

But when Gallup recently reported that almost a quarter of the world’s population is lonely, there is no solution. What does it take to advance the conversation and bring about real change?

Having spent more than a decade working in this area, including studying loneliness solutions at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and leading programs on connectivity as a non-profit founder and strategic partner to organizations like AARP and the Department of Health and Human Services, I believe it’s time to shift policy from responding to loneliness to promoting healthy communities.

What is public health?

By “social well-being” I do not mean factors that influence social health, or conditions in a person’s environment that contribute to well-being. Instead, community health is an important pillar of health, along with physical and mental health. While physical health is about the body and mental health is about the mind, social health is about relationships; it is a measure of overall human health and well-being resulting from quality human relationships.

First defined by Robert D. Russell in 1973 and recently developed by other researchers, public health has been neglected in the field of health and mainstream discourse. Of Wikipedia’s nearly 7 million articles, not a single one is devoted to public health. Appreciation for this important part of human health needs to spread rapidly in order to support the lonely and to advance physical health for all.

Why public health is important

There are three main reasons why changing public health will create more impact.

First, loneliness is an indicator of social health, but it is not the only important one. The three-thirds of people worldwide who do not feel lonely could still benefit from improving their social lives in other ways. For example, maybe you feel very connected to family and friends, so you don’t feel lonely, yet you’re not close to anyone in your neighborhood (like 46% of Americans) or you don’t feel like when you go to work (like 64% of Americans).

To illustrate, just because you exercise regularly and are not overweight doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to stay fit, like getting enough sleep or eating a healthy diet. Just because you interact regularly and don’t feel lonely doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to have a healthy social life, such as forming deep friendships or developing a sense of community.

Second, the overemphasis of loneliness draws too much attention to the negative. In my work consulting for healthcare organizations and other industries, I often hear program leaders complain that introducing boredom or boredom pushes participants away – and sometimes leaves them feel worse.

On the other hand, creating a conversation about public health is empowering. As the researchers explained, health can be improved effectively by building on assets in addition to dealing with deficits. This means not only highlighting loneliness and addressing barriers to community health, but also enhancing the power of human relationships and creating opportunities for more meaningful connections. Public health as an inclusive and preventive goal: Like not waiting for a cancer diagnosis to take care of your physical health or neglecting your mental health until you have an anxiety attack, people they can benefit from strengthening their social lives, whether they feel lonely or not. .

Third, public health discourse highlights good health important. Researchers have found that people greatly underestimate how important relationship factors are to longevity. Last year, the World Health Organization established a Public Liaison Commission, which will help raise awareness and promote this issue. But it should take it a step further and legally promote public health. In the same way that the language of mental health helped people take their feelings seriously, the language of social health will help people take their relationships seriously.

To promote and improve public health

Targeted efforts that help the subset of people who actually suffer from chronic loneliness must be complemented by broader measures that improve community health for all.

To that end, Spain provides inspiration. While doing research for my upcoming book, I interviewed Joan R. Riera, who led the loneliness policy for the city of Barcelona. He told me that he intended it to be the first and last loneliness plan out there, because he realized that dealing with loneliness gets you far. In fact, research has revealed that only 3.5% of Barcelona residents report being lonely on a regular basis, but 25% of adults say they don’t make friends and 26.5% of children want more friends. They need a public health policy more than a loneliness policy.

Similarly, the UK and Japan should consider whether it is time to move away from ministers for loneliness and appoint public health ministers. Some countries that are still suffering from loneliness can have a big impact in the long term with this top trend.

People need to be taught that community health is just as important as physical and mental health and be given attractive ways to improve their community, creating initiatives such as the surgeon’s Connection Challenge of America. It is also important to teach health care professionals that relationships help determine their patients’ outcomes and that relationships are a form of medicine.

With great attention to loneliness and the urgent need for further development, it is time to choose the same level of importance to public health that we have given to physical and mental health and to light the way that continues out of the darkness we have been stuck in. for a very long time.

Kasley Killam, MPH, is the founder of Social Health Labs and author of “The Art and Science of Communication: Why Social Health is the Key to Living a Long, Healthy, and Happy Life” (Harper Collins, June 2024).