Austerity, Ageism and the Rhetoric of Self-reliance: The Policy Drivers and Socio-cultural Attitudes Contributing to the Loneliness Experienced by Older Residents in an Underprivileged Community in South Wales

Ruth Jennifer Naughton-Doe

doi:10.1017/S1474746424000423

Austerity, Ageism and the Rhetoric of Self-reliance: The Policy Drivers and Socio-cultural Attitudes Contributing to the Loneliness Experienced by Older Residents in an Underprivileged Community in South Wales

Ruth Jennifer Naughton-Doe

Social Policy and Social Work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Reducing loneliness amongst older people is an international public health and policy priority, with signs of decreasing3importance in the UK. A growing body of research on tackling loneliness indicates it is a complex challenge. Most interventions imply they address loneliness, when in fact they offer social connectedness to address social isolation and can inadvertently responsibilise the individual for the causes and solutions for loneliness. This article presents research that explored loneliness in an underprivileged community in South Wales through interviews and focus groups with nineteen older people and eighteen local service providers. Their perspective supports a growing body of evidence that loneliness amongst older people is driven by wider structural and socio-cultural exclusion. Interventions to build social connections will be more effective if coupled with policies that reverse the reduction in public services (including transport and healthcare), and challenge socio-cultural norms, including a culture of self-reliance and ageism.

Original language	English
Number of pages	16
Journal	Social Policy and Society
Early online date	13 Nov 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746424000423
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 13 Nov 2024

Bibliographical note

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10.1017/S1474746424000423Licence: CC BY

Austerity, Ageism, and the Rhetoric of Self-reliance: The Policy Drivers and Socio-cultural Attitudes Contributing to the Loneliness Experienced by Older Residents in an Underprivileged Community in South Wales
© The Author(s), 2024.
Final published version, 273 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "Reducing loneliness amongst older people is an international public health and policy priority, with signs of decreasing3importance in the UK. A growing body of research on tackling loneliness indicates it is a complex challenge. Most interventions imply they address loneliness, when in fact they offer social connectedness to address social isolation and can inadvertently responsibilise the individual for the causes and solutions for loneliness. This article presents research that explored loneliness in an underprivileged community in South Wales through interviews and focus groups with nineteen older people and eighteen local service providers. Their perspective supports a growing body of evidence that loneliness amongst older people is driven by wider structural and socio-cultural exclusion. Interventions to build social connections will be more effective if coupled with policies that reverse the reduction in public services (including transport and healthcare), and challenge socio-cultural norms, including a culture of self-reliance and ageism.",

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