Addressing loneliness in a retirement village community: a pilot test of a print-delivered intervention.

Aim: To explore perceptions of a self-help print-delivered intervention aimed at encouraging social well-being and addressing loneliness in a retirement village community.

Method: A total of 58 residents of an Australian retirement village received a series of five factsheets addressing various dimensions of loneliness.

Results: The factsheets raised awareness of the importance of social well-being and loneliness.

'Nowadays you don't even see your neighbours': loneliness in the everyday lives of older Australians.

Loneliness is a pressing social issue for older people globally. Despite this, there is a paucity of studies on how older people themselves perceive loneliness and how service providers can support them. This study sought to address the gap using in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 60 older people and eight focus groups with aged care service providers in Australia in 2007.