Cost of Loneliness

[Ongoing]

Project Summary 

Loneliness is a distressing and common experience. The negative physical and mental health problems associated with loneliness include depression, anxiety, and general mortality. Despite such health implications, little research has been conducted to establish the relationship between use of healthcare services and loneliness. Specifically, few studies have examined the economic impact of loneliness and the cost-effectiveness of strategies to help manage the problem.

In this project, we will examine the economic cost of loneliness. We will do this primarily with a systematic review. This will include literature on the economic consequence of loneliness and the cost-effectiveness of approaches to address loneliness. We will also carry out scoping of existing datasets in England, to establish those that include potentially useful information on loneliness and economic consequences for future research. Finally, we will integrate our findings to develop a conceptual model of the economic consequences of loneliness.

publications

• Study protocol outlining  what will be done in this review