Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: -of social connections. While it serves an adaptive function by signaling social disconnection and motivating reconnection, chronic loneliness is a well-established risk factor for adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Recognizing its growing prevalence and health burden, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified loneliness as a public health priority. To date, most research and interventions have focused on high-risk individuals, mainly within clinical populations, often addressing loneliness only after it becomes severe and entrenched. This paper argues for a paradigm shift toward population-level interventions that targets the broader social and environmental determinants of loneliness. Specifically, we propose a loneliness spectrum model and a systemic intervention framework that targets structural determinants, positioning loneliness prevention as a fundamental public health strategy through nature-based and community-driven interventions.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
Awards: G6949049839, G8866759658
OpenAlex ID: W4413288012