Conceptualising loneliness for people with learning disabilities: a co-designed intervention to support social connectedness in social care settings

Start date

July 2022

End date

January 2028

Overview

Loneliness is defined as a mismatch between the quantity and quality of the social relationships that we have, and those that we want. There are serious physical and mental health consequences associated with loneliness which is concerning for people with learning disabilities who are seven times more likely to be lonely than their non-disabled peers. Indeed, the stress caused by prolonged loneliness may be contributing to the increased risk of a range of health problems that people with learning disabilities experience; as well as the fact that on average they die 15-20 years earlier than the general population.

These poor outcomes show there is an urgent need to improve life chances for people with learning disabilities, yet to date little is understood of how loneliness is subjectively experienced by this group of complex and diverse people. Many people with learning disabilities are supported in formal care settings, often throughout their lives. Despite staff in these settings tending to feature prominently in the lives of the people they support, this role remains underused in its potential to facilitate social connectedness for people in receipt of support.

This study seeks to better understand how staff in care settings can help ameliorate loneliness for people they support by co-designing an intervention that will improve the ability of staff to help people with learning disabilities become more socially connected in their lives.

This is a 67 month (@ 0.6 FTE) qualitative study consisting of three distinct but interrelated Phases.

Phase one: Conceptualising loneliness for people with learning disabilities using evidence review and creative methods

This will first comprise undertaking a scoping review to appraise and map the existing literature on loneliness and social

connectedness to inform this project’s work with people with learning disabilities. Second, creative methods activities and a focus group will be undertaken with a small number of people with learning disabilities to build up a holistic picture of how these individuals express their experiences of loneliness and social connectedness.

Phase two: Ethnographic case studies

Here, in-depth ethnographic case studies will be undertaken with four different learning disability services. Building on Phase one material that will capture the views of people with learning disabilities, this Phase will seek to understand the wider context of people’s support to determine what this reveals of the facilitators and barriers to enabling social connectedness among people with learning disabilities in these settings.

Phase three: Co-designing an intervention

The findings from Phase one and Phase two will be used to co-design an intervention with individuals involved in learning disability services to develop guidance and training that will improve the ability of staff to help the people they support become more socially connected.

Aims and objectives

Research question

How do people with learning disabilities experience loneliness and how can understanding this better inform social care practitioners in facilitating meaningful social connections for the people they support?

Research aim

To conceptualise how people with learning disabilities experience loneliness and to co-design an intervention to support people with learning disabilities to become more socially connected in their lives.

Objectives

  1. To scope evidence and build a conceptual picture of loneliness, informed by the views of people with learning disabilities;
  2. To capture lived experiences of learning disability support settings to identify the facilitators and barriers to staff supporting people with learning disabilities to be socially connected;

To co-design an intervention to produce staff guidance and training that will improve the ability of staff to help the people they support become more socially connected.

Funding amount

£456,622.00

Funder

Team

Research themes

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