An NHMRC funded five-year project
Three studies aim to understand the relationship between social isolation, loneliness, and chronic illness in older adults.
Chronic illnesses are common, particularly in later life. They have been shown to increase the risk of developing social isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression. Similarly, loneliness and social isolation have been shown to exacerbate chronic illnesses.
This National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded study aims to increase our understanding of the factors that link these physical and mental health conditions together. Understanding these links will help us to develop more targeted interventions to reduce loneliness and social isolation among people with chronic illness and create better outcomes for people experiencing these conditions.
Interrelated studies
This research will address a current lack of representation of individuals living with chronic illnesses through three interrelated studies.
This study will use a series of focus groups with consumers (ie people with lived experience of chronic illnesses) to identify possible mechanisms underlying bidirectional relationships between chronic illness outcomes, social isolation and loneliness.
We anticipate that a range of cognitive, behavioural, emotional and health factors will be reported by participants as contributing to this bidirectional relationship.
The results of this study will inform the other two planned studies in this research stream.
Progress: This study is now completed. A paper presenting the findings has been written and submitted to a peer-review journal for publication.
This will be a four-year online survey, completed annually by participants.
This study will test the directional relationships between specific health and psychological mechanisms (informed by findings from Study 1) that are proposed to underlie the relationships between social isolation, loneliness and chronic illness outcomes that might inform treatment targets.
The knowledge from this study will lead to increased understanding of how these variables fit together and interact with each other to increase risk for social isolation and loneliness, as well as the impacts on disease outcomes over the long term.
Furthermore, this study will help identify the most important mechanisms driving increases in social isolation and loneliness, and reductions in chronic illness outcomes. These key mechanisms will be targeted in a new loneliness module added to our established Chronic Conditions Course in Study 3.
Progress: Wave 1 data collection is complete. Wave 2 data collection is now ongoing.
Study 3 is a randomised controlled trial of an online psychological treatment program for older adults with chronic health conditions, who are experiencing loneliness or social isolation.
The online psychological program is based on a well-established and publicly available teletherapy Chronic Conditions Course, developed with NHMRC funding. This course targets psychological adjustment to chronic illness and has demonstrated efficacy in reducing depression, anxiety and disability. It has been enhanced to include additional therapy content to target loneliness and social isolation factors identified in:
- Study 1: Focus groups
- the first year of Study 2: Longitudinal survey.
Progress: We are now recruiting. Learn more and apply.
Researchers at Macquarie University are inviting older adults to take part in a free, online 8-week program designed to help people better understand and manage feelings of loneliness and social isolation while living with chronic health conditions.
The program provides practical psychological information and skills that you can learn from home, at your own pace. Participants are also able to access optional clinical support from a psychologist as they work through the program.
You may be eligible if you are:
- aged 60 years or older
- residing in Australia
- living with a chronic physical health condition
- experiencing feelings of loneliness or social isolation.
Research team
We are a multidisciplinary team of researchers, consumers, and consumer advocates. Our team members have expertise in:
- chronic illness management
- clinical trials
- consumer codesign and engagement
- epidemiology
- longitudinal modelling
- longitudinal surveys
- multimorbidity
- primary care
- identification of psychological mechanisms underlying, and treatment of the following in older adults:
- depression
- anxiety
- social isolation
- loneliness
Lead investigator: Professor Viviana Wuthrich
- Professor Blake Dear
- Professor Louise Sharpe (University of Sydney)
- Distinguished Professor Ron Rapee
- Professor Simon Willcock
- Dr Daniel Costa (University of Sydney)
- Associate Professor Milena Gandy
- Dr Amelia Scott
- Dr Alana Fisher
- Dr Jessamine Chen
- Ms Lucinda Brogden
- Ms Christine Walker
- Professor Mike Jones
- Dr Gabrielle Picard
- Dr Joanne Dudeney.
References
¹ Hunter, M. L., Knuiman, M. W., Musk, B. A., Hui, J., Murray, K., Beilby, J. P., ... & James, A. L. (2021). Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Australian baby boomers: the Busselton healthy ageing study. BMC public health, 21(1), 1-12.
² Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021. Australian Burden of Disease Study 2018: key findings. Australian Burden of Disease Study series 24. Cat. no. BOD 30. Canberra: AIHW.