National Health Guidelines for Social Connection: What Is the Evidence in Support and What Might the Guidelines Say?

Abstract

National health guidelines provide policy makers and the public with recommendations for various behavioral factors known to promote health and reduce disease risk, such as diet and physical activity. Given public health concerns about social isolation, loneliness, and other forms of lacking social connection, the evidence supports establishing national health guidelines for “social connection.” The aggregate body of scientific evidence demonstrates social connection protects health and reduces health risks, pointing to clear relevance for public health. Taken together with national trends suggesting greater social disconnection, there is a compelling case for national preventative efforts. This article summarizes evidence on the health relevance of social connections, potential opportunities, and challenges in establishing and implementing guidelines, the process of establishing guidelines, and provides illustrative evidence-based examples of potential recommendations.

A healthy lifestyle is a social lifestyle: The vital link between social connection and health outcomes

“…A recent proposal of national health guidelines for social connection, similar to health guidelines for other lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep, could act as a template for expert advisory committees to come up with evidence-based recommendations with periodic scientific updates as has been the pattern with establishing other national health guidelines in the United States. 133 National and global-level measurement of social connection can inform future editions of the guidelines, identify high-risk populations, and track the efforts and progress of global, national, and local prevention efforts. Systemic change across sectors is needed to substantially prioritize social connection for health; nonetheless, the health sector plays a key role 3,4 Healthcare settings are important settings for disseminating health information-including the importance of social connection as part of a healthy lifestyle.…”

“…We should not let the complexity of social connection hold us back from acting. A recent proposal of national health guidelines for social connection, similar to health guidelines for other lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep, could act as a template for expert advisory committees to come up with evidence‐based recommendations with periodic scientific updates as has been the pattern with establishing other national health guidelines in the United States 133 . National and global‐level measurement of social connection can inform future editions of the guidelines, identify high‐risk populations, and track the efforts and progress of global, national, and local prevention efforts.…”

‘My parkrun friends.’ A qualitative study of social experiences of men at parkrun in Ireland

“…Maintaining a state of good mental wellbeing can be preventative against mental health conditions and suicide (Barry et al, 2019;Keyes et al, 2010). Social connections, incorporating social support, social capital and social networks, are recognised as determinants of mental health and wellbeing (Holt-Lunstad, 2022;Thoits, 2011;Umberson & Karas Montez, 2010) and have been identified as a priority area for public health policy (Holt-Lunstad, 2023;World Health Organization, 2023).…”

Social support and self‐efficacy serially mediate the association of strength of identification with text‐based crisis support line volunteers' compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction

“…However, Dery and Hafermalz (2016) argues that while work identity can be an important predictor of staff well‐being, remote working practices can undermine self‐categorisation as a group member. Recognising this and reflecting the rise in remote working Holt‐Lunstad (2023) calls for more research exploring the role of group identification in remote working contexts (Holt‐Lunstad, 2023). Consequently, we hypothesise that social support and self‐efficacy act as serial mediators of the relationship between strength of identification and wellbeing’.…”