Isolation and Loneliness Amid the Pandemic | OAS Episode 122

Social isolation and loneliness are topics most of us have first-hand experience with after a year of a pandemic has left us unable to spend time with family and friends. The ill effects of such isolation are not just on our mental health but also can affect our physical health just as much as cigarette smoking or obesity.

Our guests are Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University in Utah, and Lori Gerhard, director of the Office of Interagency Innovation at the U.S. Administration for Community Living.

Holt-Lunstad, who has studied the topic for decades, discusses groups in society most at risk for social isolation and how public policy can help address the problem. Gerhard addresses particularly how social isolation affects older Americans and how policies at the federal and state level can help them with these challenges.

Resources

• OAS Episode 122 Transcription
• "Sustaining Behavioral Health Services Through the Pandemic"
• “The Double Pandemic of Social Isolation and COVID-19: Cross-Sector Policy Must Address Both,” by Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad
• U.S. Administration for Community Living