Major survey launched to help combat loneliness

DATA: Hull has higher levels of loneliness than other parts of the region

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Researchers are inviting people in Hull to take part in a major study on loneliness.

The research and development department at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is hoping to recruit 15,000 residents in the city – about ten per cent of the population – to take part in the survey.

The anonymous online survey can be completed by anyone aged 16 and over with an HU postcode. It is available in 11 languages and takes about ten minutes to complete.

You can take part here.

It comes after figures showed Hull to have higher levels of loneliness than neighbouring areas. In 2020, about 12.5 per cent of adults in the city said they experienced loneliness, compared to 9.1 per cent in York, 6.5 per cent in East Yorkshire, and 6 per cent in Leeds. “This figure was higher than the average for East Yorkshire, York, & Leeds, indicating that Hull faces a particular challenge with loneliness,” a trust spokeswoman said.

The research, which is being backed by Hull City Council, will feed into a wider survey by Imperial College London, which is investigating the prevalence of loneliness and social isolation in the general population. It is hoped 250,000 people will take part in the study nationally.

The information collected may help influence policy, the development of future services, new treatments and bring in more funding to our region to tackle the problems of loneliness and social isolation. Contributing factors are social isolation, life changes, mental health, and age, the trust said.

Based on four simple multiple-choice questions, the information can be combined with the postcode, age and sex of the respondents to create “heat maps” at a regional level if enough people take part. The map could help health leaders understand patterns of loneliness and potentially develop targeted place-based interventions.

More than 1,000 people have already taken part in phase one of the research, which was promoted across GP practices within the trust area.

“Loneliness is one of society’s wicked problems that we can’t just throw money at,” the spokeswoman said. “To make a real difference we need to raise awareness about loneliness across the age groups and in different settings and to work with the community to support those who may be suffering in silence.”