Letter/Communication
Social connection: The new frontier for better health in 2026
Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, Vol.50(3), pp.1-2
06/2026
PMID: 42269382
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that loneliness causes ∼871,000 deaths annually worldwide and affects one in six people.1 Hence, WHO has declared that “social connection is essential for the health, strength and resilience of individuals and societies”<sup>1</sup). While social health has long been
embedded in the WHO’s holistic definition of health, its recent report emphasises the need to prioritise social connection with the sameurgency as mental and physical health.1 In Australia, recent government inquiries recognise loneliness and social disconnection as having significant public, mental health and health system challenges.
Details
- Title
- Social connection: The new frontier for better health in 2026
- Creators
- Rosanne Freak-Poli - Monash UniversityKuljit Singh - Social Prescribing Specific Interest GroupJenny Kirschner - PALS (Pharmacy Addressing Loneliness and Social-isolation) (Australia)J R Baker - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, Vol.50(3), pp.1-2
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V.
- Identifiers
- 991013385951902368
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Authors.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Letter/Communication