social connection vs loneliness and isolation

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health just launched first-of-their-kind national clinical guidelines on social isolation and loneliness in older adults.

This integrated KTE webinar event is being brought to you by brainXchange in partnership with the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA).

Date and Time: Monday September 18, 2023

• 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM (Pacific DT)
• 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Mountain DT)
• 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Central Standard)
• 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Central DT)
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern DT)
• 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (Atlantic DT)
• 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM (Newfoundland DT)

SUMMARY:

Today I noticed an interesting article on isolation and loneliness among older adults in the latest issue of the Mental Health Commission of Canada's The Catalyst newsletter:

Aging without support is becoming more prevalent for older people in Canada. How can we stem the tide? A look at inclusive aging during Loneliness Awareness Week.

A new infosheet by the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health highlights the definition and dimensions of loneliness, the impacts of loneliness on mental health, the relationship between isolation and connection, as well as tips for coping with loneliness when it appears in our lives.

Social isolation and loneliness are growing public health concerns. In Canada, older adults are at increased risk and face a number of potential negative impacts on their health. If you are a health or social service professional working with older adults, you can help CCSMH learn more from your experience and insights by completing our survey.

The Dementia Isolation Toolkit was developed to support residents of long-term care during periods of isolation, as well as to address moral distress in long-term care home staff.  In this presentation, we will speak about how this tool has been used during the pandemic, barriers and facilitators to its use, and some preliminary research on its impact.

The Canada HomeShare™ is an intergenerational housing solution by the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE). They work to match older adult home providers with students to create mutually beneficial living solutions.

This webinar will provide an overview of the program's goal to support aging in place for older adults while providing safe and affordable housing solutions for post-secondary students.

Speakers will highlight how the program is being adapted and implemented various cities across Canada.

Presenter: Emily Rugel, Postdoctoral fellow, Simon Fraser University

Description:

The population of adults aged 60-plus is growing rapidly around the world, expected to more than double to more than two billion by 2050, and the World Health Organization has declared 2020-2030 the “Decade of Healthy Ageing” in response to this demographic shift. Although much of the conversation around healthy aging has focused on individual risk factors and health behaviors, the built, natural, and social environments all play significant roles.

Join the Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) Community of Interest for a webinar presented by Drs. Cheryl Forchuk and Rick Csiernik about their latest book, Poverty, Mental Health, and Social Inclusion.

Many caregivers say they feel alone and isolated. While family members and friends often ask how the care recipient is doing, they don’t always think to ask how the caregiver is doing. Caregivers have told us this simple gesture of kindness, like calling them to ask how they’re doing, can make such a big difference in their day.

April 21 2021

12-1pm

BUILDING INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO MEET THE DISTINCTIVE NEEDS OF THE DUAL DIAGNOSIS POPULATION

How can we leverage online platforms to facilitate connection, community-building, and peer support among youth?

How can we reach, engage, and support youth who may be experiencing social isolation?

Join us for an engaging and timely conversation that explores how organizations are using new and existing online platforms to engage youth, build communities, and facilitate peer-to-peer support.

Social Worker Martin Webber from the United Kingdom: "On World Mental Health Day here is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of social connections for our mental health. "

In the early stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government put a number of measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus, which included closing schools and encouraging physical distancing. The impact of these measures on the mental health of those in adolescence, a critical developmental stage, was worrisome yet unknown.

For this reason, researchers at Western University set out to explore teens’ stress related to COVID-19 and its relationship to their daily behaviours and other indicators of psychological distress. 

Mental Health has a broad and socially woven meaning depending upon where you sit.  I work with people who have needed extended support to address and manage the disability of a mental illness. These are people who in their personal history need the most intensive levels of support from hospitals or community-based levels of mental health care.

CAMH developed a new resource highlighting a social prescribing pilot and how health and social service providers can apply lessons learned to their work with older adults.

Join the brainXchange as they present the findings from a knowledge exchange project conducted by researchers at The KITE Research Institute (University Health Network) together with Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO), Family Councils Ontario (FCO) and the Ontario Association of Resident's Councils (OARC). Together, they conducted a scoping review of published research that reported some aspect(s) of social connection among residents of long-term care (LTC) homes.

Governments around the world have put in place numerous measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Research in adults has shown that social isolation has negative mental health effects but there is limited research on its effect on children.

The Art of Life Community Health Centre presents the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Course for Youth (ages 14 to 27) in a new format.

Weekly one-hour FREE online classes for 8-weeks with complimentary onsite meditation practice.

On August 27th, we will have the introductory classes for all youth age groups.

Social connection is important for older adults’ physical health, mental health and overall quality of life. Yet with COVID-19 and the physical distancing measures in place, older adults are more likely to experience social isolation.