Grant: Summer Program in Aging

Loneliness has been recognized as a global public health concern. Older people are regarded to be at a higher 'risk' of experiencing loneliness due to a greater likelihood of living alone, health-related problems, and reduction of social ties and support, challenges that were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have also demonstrated the adverse effects of loneliness on older people's longevity, physical/psychological well-being, and quality of life. Singapore is experiencing an accelerated rate of population aging, with the country set to become a 'super-aged' society by 2026, with one-fifth of the population aged 65 and above. The Singapore government has prioritized loneliness as a 'threat' to the health of an aging populace, with a slew of community programs designed to promote the building of social connections and an active lifestyle among older people. While the field of research on loneliness among older people provides insights into the risk factors, outcomes, and interventions to address loneliness, lesser attention is paid to understanding how older people experience loneliness in their everyday lives, and how these experiences are shaped by broader social and structural mechanisms. This research plans to adopt a critical ethnographic approach to explore how socio-cultural, economic, and cultural factors influence older people's experiences of loneliness in the Singapore context. The proposed research aims to shift the analysis of loneliness as an individual 'problem' that places the primary responsibility on older people to fix, to an understanding of loneliness as linked to broader ageist structures and inequities. These findings can inform the design of community/system-level policies and practices that are centered on equity, inclusion, and do not reproduce loneliness and marginalization among older people.