Addressing loneliness and isolation in older people from minoritised ethnic groups

Older people from minoritised ethnic groups are more likely than others to experience social isolation and loneliness. Age/ageism, migration-related processes, health and socio-economic inequalities and racism/discrimination all intersect to produce these outcomes. This video reports findings from a four-phased mixed-methods study which revealed that community-based groups tailored to fit with aspects of participants’ identities that they value and that provide opportunities to connect based on these identities help to reduce their social isolation and loneliness.

Brenda Hayandga is a Research Fellow based at the University of Sussex, School of Education and Social Work. She is currently working on a project investigating ethnic inequalities in healthcare utilisation and care quality among people with multiple conditions. She is interested in matters concerning people from minoritised ethnic groups and how individual, social, historical and cultural processes intersect to influence their ageing. She is also interested in understanding the different ways that inequalities experienced earlier in the life course affect their ageing. Other areas of interest include the evaluation of health interventions, the use of an intersectional life-course approach to understanding the diversity of older people and the relationship between research and social policy or practice. Her ESCR funded PhD research sought to assess whether social isolation and loneliness interventions were effective and suitable for older people from minoritised ethnic groups living in the UK.