In 2023, the advisory “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation - The US Surgeon General’s Advisory on Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community,” shined a light on social disconnection as a public health crisis. Many people around the country experience feelings of isolation, invisibility, and insignificance—the definition of loneliness—and research has confirmed its prevalence and detriment to health, stating that “lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.” Bring your coffee or tea as we connect with each other and familiarize ourselves with the Advisory’s findings, explore how other countries have developed systemic solutions to address isolation, and discuss how to increase social connectedness in our own communities.

Learning Objectives:

After the session, participants will be able to:

1) Articulate trends in social connection in the U.S.

2) Describe the potential impact of loneliness on future substance use

3) Discuss different cultural perspectives around loneliness

4) List evidence-driven prevention strategies to address loneliness

5) Identify at least one action step they can take to address loneliness in their own    community.

Presenter bios:

Tracy Desovich -MPH, CPS – Tracy is a training and technical assistance specialist with over 30 years of experience in substance misuse prevention and public health. Her expertise includes community health assessment, planning, organizing and evaluation, leadership development, utilizing data to mobilize change, social norms marketing and healthy communities’ principles.

Teresa Gomez – MA, MS is a Training & Technical Assistance specialist with EDC. For more than a decade, Teresa managed public & private global health efforts for European organizations. Her areas of focus include substance misuse prevention, behavioral health, social interventions for young people, and meeting the needs of underserved women.