JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social isolation and loneliness have considerable implications for health. In particular, gender is the most important factor contributing to social isolation and loneliness, with different genders adopting different strategies for coping with stress and participating in social interactions. However, because researchers tend to adopt different approaches when examining gender in the field of social isolation, mixed findings have been achieved.

Objective:

This study conducts a review of intervention programs for social isolation and loneliness, focusing on their consideration of gender.

Methods:

A scoping review was conducted as per the JBI Manual for the Synthesis of Evidence. A comprehensive literature search, including hand searching, was conducted across six English-language databases for articles and reports published in 2013–2023, with the papers retrieved by three co-authors. The study’s search strategy was developed in consultation with the librarian at X University.

Results:

The comprehensive search identified 1,282 relevant articles and reports. Among these, 11 articles were selected for analysis. Women were the majority of the participants in 10 of these studies. In particular, exercise workshops proved to be effective in alleviating social isolation and loneliness, and meditation and laughter therapy programs effectively mitigated loneliness. However, none of the studies considered gender-specific issues when devising their research objectives and outcomes.

Conclusions:

The study’s findings indicate that in the future, gender should be considered in the planning and execution of intervention programs for individuals experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Crucially, interventions that seek to encourage social interactions or promote social participation without considering gender-specific issues are unlikely to be effective.