October 2024
In 2023, four research teams received $5.5 million in targeted funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to investigate ways to identify and support people with chronic disease who are experiencing loneliness and social isolation.
On October 24th, 112 people (69 online and 43 in person) across local and state government, health, mental health, research and community service came together at Monash University in Melbourne to hear about the cutting-edge research being undertaken by the grant recipients and their presenting researchers; Professor Catherine Mihalopoulos (Monash University), Dr Kate Filia (University of Melbourne), Dr Jessamine Chen (Macquarie University) and Dr Isabella Ingram (University of Wollongong).
CEO of Ending Loneliness Together, Associate Professor Michelle Lim, delivered an opening address exploring the relationship between social isolation, loneliness and chronic disease.
“Loneliness is a critical issue of our time affecting 1 in 3 Australians. Certain circumstances and conditions make us more vulnerable to experiencing loneliness, and it’s important we understand these risk factors so that we can apply an evidence-based approach to prevention and intervention strategies.”
“We know that persistent social isolation and loneliness can contribute to chronic disease, and chronic disease can result in feelings of loneliness. Our State of the Nation Report found people living with chronic disease (such as arthritis, heart disease, asthma and dementia) are 2 times more likely to feel lonely.”
The four research projects explore the overlap of loneliness and chronic disease and cover prevention, early intervention and management.
|
Project Name |
Project Description | Lead Researcher |
| The Sincere project: Developing resources to support socially inclusive care for mental ill-health | Developing and testing the acceptability of much-needed resources to support mental health services to identify and address social exclusion as part of routine mental healthcare. | 
Dr Kate Filia, Melbourne University, Orygen |
| Targeting mechanisms underlying loneliness in chronic conditions | Identifying and targeting the psychological factors that lead to social isolation, loneliness and poorer outcomes for people with chronic disease. | 
Professor Viviana Wuthrich, Macquarie University |
| Groups for Belonging | A parallel cluster randomised controlled trial examining the effectiveness of a group-based loneliness intervention, Groups for Belonging, to help people accessing alcohol and other drug treatment services to recover by re-establishing meaningful social relationships. | 
Professor Peter Kelly, University of Wollongong |
| Connecting for Better Health project: Towards a holistic priority setting approach for chronic disease management to tackle loneliness and social isolation in Australia | Working with a diverse team of consumer and community members to develop acceptable, targeted, equitable and cost-effective strategies for tackling loneliness and social isolation as part of a holistic approach to chronic disease management. | 
Professor Cathy Mihalopoulos, Monash University Health Economics Group & ELT Scientific Advisory Committee |
Share