It’s an epidemic afflicting around around 9 million people in the UK and yet we have a problem talking about loneliness. With nearly one fifth of the population experiencing social isolation and loneliness, eight months ago, outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May launched a national strategy to tackle loneliness and appointed the first ever Minister for Loneliness.
Through national surveys, we now know more about the common risk factors associated with loneliness: living alone, bereavement, people living with long term health conditions, and people who feel they belong less strongly to their neighbourhood. But surprisingly we know little about how loneliness varies between ethnic groups.
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