The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social isolation and loneliness – A Nordic research review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has in many ways challenged the health and well-being of people, and more widely, the welfare systems in the Nordic countries. Due to regulations and lockdowns, many people have experienced social isolation, and certain vulnerable groups – such as older adults and those with disabilities – have been hit especially hard. As loneliness has implications for people’s long-term mental and physical health, the consequences of the pandemic are significant for health and social care as a whole.This literature review describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness and social isolation among younger and older adults living in the Nordic countries, with and without disabilities, and in different situations.

Perceived Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness: The Most Vulnerable Population Groups

“…However, our study suggests other insights with regard to the age factor. Loneliness is more often found among middle-aged (27.2% of [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] and older (34.1% of 60-74) people, while in other countries younger groups were reported as more vulnerable: UK [8,9], Spain [2], Canada [54]. This might be related to other factors than the pandemic.…”

“…Thus, there is a tendency to find a correlation between vulnerability and a higher risk of loneliness during a pandemic. Recent comprehensive multicountry studies [6,51] complemented the list of vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic, proving that people with underlying health issues and specific support needs experience more severe consequences. Severely ill patients in intensive care units, hospital patients in general, students, older adults in care homes, and people who self-isolated to mitigate the risk of infecting others or being infected were among the loneliest.…”