The World Has Changed: Emerging Challenges for Health Care Research to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness Related to COVID-19

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a consensus study report titled “Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System” on February 27, 2020 [1]. The report summarized research evidence on the health eff ects of social isolation and loneliness and made recommendations for potential roles the health care system could play in reducing those eff ects in older adults. The report included recommendations for future research, predominately in the areas of shared measurement strategies, interventions, and impact on vulnerable populations. In the months since the report, the COVID-19 pandemic altered social interactions among people around the world. Some of the new interactional norms will need to continue for months or years, depending on how the pandemic progresses. These norms continue to evolve amid the current widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality. The world has changed, almost overnight. In this paper, the authors off er a preliminary outline of proposed research priorities to inform strategies to mitigate the health eff ects of social isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.