Measuring loneliness at a national scale: The measuring loneliness in England (INTERACT) study's approach and initial findings.

backgroundLoneliness is increasingly recognised as a major public health challenge with significant implications for mental, physical and social wellbeing. While there were previous large scale studies including loneliness measures, few datasets capture loneliness across the full adult life course, integrate neighbourhood-level social capital and provide geospatial mapping at national scale. The Measuring Loneliness in England (INTERACT) Study was designed to address these gaps by characterising the distribution, intensity and sociodemographic patterning of loneliness within a large volunteer-based sample across diverse population groups in England. The aim of this paper is to describe the development, implementation and early findings of the INTERACT study.

methodsA total of 135,725 adults completed the online survey between March and July 2023. The instrument included validated measures of loneliness: the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) 3 item loneliness scale and Office for National Statistics Direct Measure (DMOL), social capital indicators and demographic variables. Descriptive statistics were stratified by key subgroups. A geospatial analysis at Lower Super Output Area level was used to visualise clustering of loneliness across England.

results135,725 participants across the full adult life course (16+) were included. The cohort was predominantly female (61.6%), White (82.6%) and aged over 65 (32.4%). The sample over-represented highly educated individuals and under-represented minority ethnic groups. On DMLO, 16.5% of participants reported feeling lonely "often or always," while the UCLA-3 indicated that 21% to 22.5% frequently felt a lack of companionship, left out, or isolated (median score=6, Interquartile Range (IQR) = 3-7). Social capital perceptions were mixed (median=4, IQR) = 2-6). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of loneliness for 44.0% of respondents and isolation for 48.2%. As a volunteer-based, non-probability sample, findings are descriptive of respondents and are not intended to estimate population prevalence.

conclusionsThe INTERACT Study provides a comprehensive national dataset on loneliness and social disconnection in England. The scale, methodological rigour and spatial granularity of the INTERACT study offer indicative insights that may inform the design of targeted, place-based interventions, pending confirmatory analyses in representative samples to mitigate loneliness and promote social connection across communities.