Loneliness in the retirement-age population in Gateshead and Newcastle

Healthwatch Gateshead and Healthwatch Newcastle undertook a joint research project to engaged with retirement-age residents of Gateshead and Newcastle to understand their experiences of loneliness and isolation. The project focused on three key areas including:

Any factors people felt contributed to feelings of loneliness & isolation and its prevalence in people’s lives. 
Awareness and use of local services that focused on reducing loneliness and isolation.
What worked well and areas for development.

They collected data from the survey from January 2023 to April 2023, and circulated both a digital survey and a paper-based survey format.

Key findings

Loneliness can occur to anyone, and in particularly felt by those aged between 65 and 74, are women, and are carers. 
Loneliness is not simply a symptom of getting older but is instead prevalent when the needs of older people are not effectively taken care of. This is especially important in terms of access and mobility, including travel routes and venues for activities.
Loneliness is something often felt for a long period of time and felt more actively in those aged between 65 and 74, possibly due to recent retirement and bereavement.
Social activities are often the most successful in engaging older people, and community-based groups are well-received.
Users who engage with some services are more likely to engage with multiple, services though there is a high rate of respondents here who do not participate at all.
Key issues preventing potential users from engaging with services are poor transport options and a lack of development of local facilities.
There is interest in specific activities, like physical fitness and arts activities for some people within some communities.

The report contains a number of recommendations to tackle loneliness in older people.