Younger and older Australians are disproportionately lonely and face increasingly poor health and higher mortality. or signup to continue reading Loneliness is of epidemic proportions with at least one in three Australians reporting the experience, a parliamentary inquiry heard on Friday. Ending Loneliness Together CEO Michelle Lim said those aged 18 to 24, the elderly and people in remote areas are disproportionately affected with the pressing public heath concern, spawning a host of health problems.
"Loneliness is bad for health and wellbeing, but when we actually have those persistent states, or more chronic states, that's where we actually exacerbate our incidence of high mortality and increase our risk to developing future health problems," she told a panel of researchers, mental health experts and policy advocates. Australia lags a host other countries who had integrated loneliness prevention into public policy and health measures, the University of Sydney professor said. Health and community services nationwide need to better understand, assess and respond to people at risk of loneliness, she added.
"I'm a registered clinical psychologist and we do not have specific training - even within our mental health sector - about what loneliness is," she told the inquiry into the prevalence, causes and impacts of loneliness in NSW. Ms Lim recommended evidence-based training programs for frontline practitioners to identify loneliness as well as guiding and promoting social conne.