U.K.’s ‘loneliness minister’ puts spotlight on issue Canada needs to tackle
The appointment of a minister of loneliness in the United Kingdom to tackle social isolation is an acknowledgment of a problem Canadian experts say needs to be addressed here as well.
B.C.’s seniors’ advocate Isobel Mackenzie said whether government intervention is the right approach remains to be seen, but it at least highlights social isolation as an important issue that merits public discourse.
“It’s getting the conversation going,” Mackenzie said. “It’s something a lot of people don’t think about who aren’t isolated and lonely. … They don’t think about the person who is not reaching out to them.”
Andrew Wister, director of the gerontology research centre at Simon Fraser University in B.C., said studies have found about one in five Canadians experience some degree of loneliness or social isolation.
Social isolation can have serious repercussions, including impacts on a person’s mental health and mortality, and Canada could learn from the U.K.’s approach in raising public discourse on the issue, he said.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday the creation of a ministerial lead on loneliness. It marks the government’s first step in implementing recommendations made by a commission that found rates of loneliness are “worryingly high” across all age groups.
Article Reference: CTV News