Prominent Reduction of loneliness among Older Migrants through Interventions and Social Engagement (PROMISE)

This project aims to generate groundbreaking scientific knowledge on the taboo surrounding loneliness and the diversity in forms and causes of loneliness among older adults with a non-European origin (in short: older migrants). In co-creation with experts by experience and welfare professionals, this new knowledge will be translated into practical tools and guidelines to reach more lonely older migrants and address their loneliness more effectively. Regarding taboo, by employing existing survey data, this project is the first to quantify the variation in underreporting loneliness among older migrants. Additionally, using innovative qualitative methods, detailed understanding will be gained of the causes of older migrants’ reluctance to talk openly about loneliness, the contexts in which this reluctance occurs, and how children and the larger community perceive the taboo and respond or might respond to it. These new insights will be applied in practice by developing a training programme for professionals and volunteers. Regarding diversity in loneliness, by innovatively reusing existing survey data, this project is the first to identify subgroups of older migrants at a particularly high risk of loneliness. In co-creation and by adding new knowledge on taboo, these subgroups will be translated into Personas and suitable accompanying types of interventions. These Personas not only raise awareness of the multifaceted manifestation of older migrants’ loneliness, but are also essential in improving current interventions and developing new ones for overlooked older migrants. Some well-designed and described interventions will be modified based on the new knowledge and evaluated for their effectiveness.