Telephone counseling is an effective way to combat loneliness and depression, new study finds

Depression and loneliness can be prevented with structured psychological care over the phone over eight weeks, a new study suggests. The study, led by a team based at the University of York and Hull York Medical School as well as the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, found that levels of depression were significantly reduced and the benefits were higher than those observed for antidepressants.

Study participants reported that their levels of emotional loneliness dropped by 21% over a three-month period and that the benefits persisted after the phone calls ended, suggesting a lasting impact.

The Behavioral Activation in Social Isolation Trial (BASIL+ Trial) began a few months after the 2020 pandemic and was the largest trial ever undertaken to target and measure loneliness in this way. The study, published in the journal The Lancet (Healthy Longevity)represents a rapid advance in understanding what works to prevent loneliness.

People invited to participate in the BASIL+ study were aged over 65 and suffered from multiple long-term pathologies. They had been asked to shield during COVID and were at high risk of loneliness and depression.

The trial was the only mental health trial prioritized by the NHS under its Urgent Public Health programme, a cornerstone of its fight against COVID. Hundreds of older people were recruited to the trial at 26 sites across the UK during the 2020-2021 COVID pandemic.

Politicians and policy makers are increasingly aware of the importance of loneliness, but struggle to know “what works” to prevent it. The World Health Organization has just declared loneliness a “global health problem” and launched an international commission into the problem.

It is anticipated that the results of the BASIL+ trial will feed into this process, as BASIL+ is the largest trial ever undertaken to tackle loneliness. The Jo Cox Commission, set up in memory of the murdered politician, estimates that 9 million people are affected by loneliness in the UK and there is a cross-government strategy to tackle loneliness, with a ministerial appointment.

The research was jointly led by Professor Simon Gilbody from the University of York and Hull York Medical School and Professor David Ekers from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Gilbody said: “We now know that loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and that depression is a silent killer. All of us working on the BASIL+ trial had parents and older relatives who found themselves socially isolated during the lockdown.

“Based on our previous research, we had a good idea of ​​what might work,” added Professor Ekers. “With support from the NHS and NIHR, we were able to test this in a large, rigorous trial. The results are now in and it’s very exciting. The UK has led the world with discovery trials “Similarly, when it comes to mental health, we’ve advanced the science of ‘what works’ in the area of ​​loneliness, and we’ve learned a lot from the dark days of the pandemic.”

Professor Ekers, Honorary Professor at the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group at the University of York, and Professor Dean McMillan, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Hull York Medical School and the University of York, designed and led the telephone support program. Professor McMillan said “prevention is better than cure, and this trial shows how we can prevent both depression and loneliness.”

Professor Lucy Chappell, CEO of the National Institute for Health and Care Research, said: “These findings are an important step in understanding what works to tackle and prevent loneliness and depression. The research is also a great example of how public money enables researchers, health professionals and the public to work together across institutions and organizations to achieve results that will truly make a difference to health and well-being of people. »

Dr Liz Littlewood, lead for the BASIL+ trial at the University of York’s Department of Health Sciences, added: “This is what the UK is doing well and it shows how the NHS, universities and third sector organizations were able to work in partnership during the trial. pandemic to meet major health challenges.

The BASIL+ partnership included leading researchers from the Universities of Leeds, Keele and Manchester, as well as the charity AgeUK.