About the Project
The Loneliness Project is a research and co-design initiative in partnership with UniSA and The Hut to address loneliness and social isolation for women in their midlife.
The project was born from two Roundtable Discussions using design thinking methods. With thanks to funding from the Women’s Health Research, Translation and Impact Network received in 2023, UniSA researchers will collaborate with The Hut team to develop initiatives to address loneliness in women aged 40-65 years. The Loneliness Project aims to reduce the stigma associated with loneliness and to develop solutions together with women in our community.
The Loneliness Project will address the question ‘How can we shape community centres to help prevent and address loneliness for women in midlife?’
In February and March 2024 we will be conducting an online survey, one-on-one Interviews and a co-design workshop series. The co-design workshop series will be held over three sessions with 20 women using creative activities and brainstorming to develop together a range of solutions. These ideas may include creating resources, social programs, tools or educational content.
Furthermore, the wider aim of The Loneliness Project is to scale these initiatives across the community centre network nationwide. This is truly an exciting project for The Hut and we are proud to have the opportunity to be involved in such an innovative initiative which has the potential to positively impact loneliness across Australia.
About Loneliness
We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. One in three Australians feel lonely but more than half of those don’t talk about it due to community misconceptions and stigma. The health impacts are as high as that for smoking or obesity. Those who are lonely are less likely to engage in physical activity, less productive at work, are more likely to have social media addiction, depression, social anxiety, and poor wellbeing. The World Health Organization has declared loneliness a global public health priority. While loneliness is often thought to only affect older people aged 65+, those aged 18-24 and 45-49 experience feelings of loneliness most often. It is particularly prevalent for women in midlife, which is often a period of transition related to family or work, yet this group is relatively ignored in the loneliness literature.
How can you get involved?
We’re starting a conversation about loneliness in our community and how we might tackle it. We’d love you to be part of the solutions! Loneliness is common, and most people will feel lonely at some point in their lives. If you are a woman aged over 40 we would love your input. You don’t have to be experiencing loneliness to have a unique perspective and some great ideas!
There are 3 ways to be involved:
- Online Survey: Anonymous survey of 5-10 minutes, OR
- Interview: One-on-one interview of 1 hour,
- Co-design Workshops: Series of creative workshops (2x 3 hour, 1x 2-hour)
Who can take part?
- Women aged 40-65+
- Living in the Adelaide Hills community
Note that experience of loneliness is not necessary as we want to hear a range of views.
To complete the online survey or register your interest please follow this link tinyurl.com/TheLonelinessProject
You can also contact The Loneliness Project Team direct: Hayley Everuss at The Hut on hayley@thehut.org.au 8339 4400; or Jodie Scott at UniSA on jodie.scott@unisa.edu.au or 8302 4546
Our Partners
We are privileged to work with a wide range of women who are advising the project from implementation, research and scaling up.
- UniSA Rosemary Bryant Research Centre
- Premiers Council for Women
- University of Adelaide
- Centre for HiAP Research Translation
- Monash University
- Uniting Communities
- Office for Ageing Well
- University of Melbourne
- Health Translations SA
- Community Centres SA