Opportunities for Primary Care Clinicians to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness
| US Surgeon General Health Care Sector Recommendations (Pillar 3) | Opportunities for Primary Care |
|---|---|
| Train health care providers | Provide and encourage opportunities for the current primary care workforce to learn about importance of SIL and practical ways to assess and address SIL in patients |
| Educate trainees in residency programs and medical schools on SIL | |
| Assess and support patients | Screen patients for loneliness (eg, using 3-item UCLA Loneliness Screener13) and social isolation (eg, using Berkman-Syme Social Network Index14) |
| Incorporate questions and information about SIL in chronic disease management care plans | |
| Implement psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy to address loneliness | |
| Implement social interventions such as referrals to community-based organizations and other social activities to improve connections | |
| Expand public health surveillance and interventions | Leverage system-wide capacity to identify SIL and promote partnerships to address SIL |
| Foster partnerships and cross-sector collaborations to address SIL between primary care, public health, and community organizations | |
| Develop infrastructure to support partnerships and collaborations |
SIL = social isolation and loneliness.