Social isolation
Around one in five older Australians are socially isolated. This rises to a third of older people living in residential aged care.
In a 2022 survey conducted by ARIIA, the Australian aged care workforce nominated social isolation as a priority topic for the sector. The Knowledge and Implementation Hub team has therefore gathered evidence of best practice, along with learning and practical resources, to support the aged care workforce to identify and act to reduce the social isolation of those in their care.
Social isolation evidence and resources
The Knowledge and Implementation Hub has brought together the research evidence on social isolation with Australian online learning and practice tools and resources. This involved:
- A scoping review of published systematic reviews that revealed the main ‘evidence themes’ across the social isolation research.
- An environmental scan of online resources in diverse formats such as guidelines, videos, learning modules, and downloadable information sheets.
The work was guided by an advisory group of research experts with expertise in the topic and people with experience in the sector.
Browse evidence themes
The Knowledge and Implementation Hub team has created short easy-to-read summaries of the research evidence on specific social isolation topics.
Connect to PubMed evidence
This PubMed topic search is limited to home care and residential aged care settings. You can choose to view all citations, strongest evidence only (randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, and guidelines), or free full-text articles.
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Social isolation
Navigating the sector
Sometimes you need some background information or to know what is happening in the sector. The research and project supports section has lots of interesting and useful resources to help you start a project, plan a study or run a training session at work.
Research and project supportsAustralian projects and initiatives
The Hub team has brought together information on current Australian research trials, projects, and initiatives focused on improving outcomes for aged care recipients experiencing social isolation, either at home or in a residential care facility.
Browse projects