Loneliness Awareness Week, which runs from 4 to 10 August, is a timely reminder of the profound impact loneliness and social isolation can have on our health and wellbeing.

Research continues to show that loneliness can shorten life expectancy by up to 15 years and increase the risk of hospitalisation or early entry into nursing home. The World Health Organisation’s 2025 report highlights the links between loneliness and poor physical and mental health, greater psychological distress and general disconnection.

Tackling this issue has been a focus area of ours for many years. In 2018, we commenced an initiative in the Upper Blue Mountains focused on a compassionate community approach. Building on this work, in 2019, we were proud to be selected as one of two Primary Health Networks nationally to develop and trial a Social Connectedness program. With a focus on reducing isolation and loneliness in older people, the approach recognises the importance of human connection, kindness, and compassion.

The success of the program inspired an expansion of new initiatives, including training community members as community connectors, organisations that are Community Connector Points, Health Connectors in general practice and Wellbeing Connectors.

In 2023, we implemented Intergenerational programs, and most recently, a Pharmacy Connector in the Hawkesbury and Pharmacy Connector Points across the region.

The My Health Connector directory supports this work, which is a tool we developed to support connectors and people across the region to know about and access services and programs available.

While the program is new, we’re already hearing incredible stories of community members who were previously experiencing loneliness being linked with local activities through their pharmacist. One lady now attends weekly morning tea catch ups through her local community centre where she has now made some friends. These small moments of connection can be life changing.

The programs have also been crucial in helping to build resilience, especially in communities like ours that have faced multiple natural disasters.

While there is some great work happening in this space, the issue of loneliness and its effects on health and wellbeing could still do with some more attention, particularly with how it is recognised and treated in primary care. Social prescribing, where GPs and nurses refer patients to community-based activities, has proven to reduce emergency department visits and improve wellbeing. Introducing dedicated Medicare item numbers for social prescribing would support broader adoption and allow primary care providers to address the root causes of poor health.

Supporting initiatives like this, which help to prevent the onset of a range of chronic mental and physical health conditions, is a great example of how we can shift the healthcare system from one that focuses on treatment to one that prioritises prevention.