Communications & Outreach chair Eddy Elmer represented SAC at the Regional Roundtable on Social Isolation at the Morris Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The event was hosted by the National Seniors Council as part of its 2013-14 mandate to study the causes, consequences, and potential solutions for isolation of Canadian seniors.
Social isolation and loneliness—the subjective experience of social isolation—are among the strongest risk factors for morbidity and mortality (see also Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2014). According to the Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State for Seniors, “That’s why it’s so important to address this issue by listening to seniors and consulting with key players from the non-profit, public and private sectors.”
As part of its consultation process, the NSC conducted a series of regional roundtables involving targeted stakeholders, experts, and academics. Participants were asked a series of questions, including:
- What factors increase the risk of a senior becoming socially isolated?
- What factors decrease the risk of a senior becoming socially isolated?
- What promising approaches (or best practices) exist to help prevent and/or reduce the social isolation of seniors?
- What more could be done to help prevent and/or reduce the social isolation of seniors?
- What could the Government of Canada do to help prevent and/or reduce the social isolation of seniors in Canada?
The roundtable in Vancouver was well-attended and participants provided valuable information for the NSC’s final report on social isolation. A scoping review of the literature on this topic is currently underway.
Mr. Elmer, whose PhD research topic is social isolation, shared the results of the report with the SAC and strongly urged members to keep the issue in mind when implementing the City’s Age-Friendly Action Plan and applying for Global Age-Friendly City status from the World Health Organization.
