Introduction

Introduction of the Kinda lab in Sweden

Purpose

Finding opportunities together and rethinking how with joint power can contribute to people not having to experience involuntary loneliness.

Background and targetgroup

Involuntary loneliness occurs at all ages but has been shown to be the greatest
among young people, young adults and people over 75. About 10–15 percent of
the elderly population experiences involuntary loneliness. Involuntary loneliness is
an agonizing feeling and can be linked to physical and mental illness. By
coordinate society's efforts, it is possible to prevent and counteract the negative ones
the effects that involuntary loneliness can have. This, in turn, can give the elderly
persons and their relatives better health and increased quality of life.

The research shows that there are various risk factors linked to involuntary loneliness among older people, for example:

• the loss of a partner
• reduced social network
• reduced functional ability
• mental illness.

In Kinda municipality, the age distribution looks like the picture below.

Webbpage Municipality of Kinda

In the picture we see that the distribution between women (green) and men (dark blue) and how the age distribution differs between Kinda municipality (left side) and for the region, Östergötland (right side). You can clearly see that Kinda has a higher proportion of elderly people than the average in the county.

Method

Initially, we lean towards having the double diamond as a methodology. However, the method is only as a support and the content and extent of the steps will be adapted by the events that arise in the interaction of participating parties. The parties are varied on the various occasions when we keep an open opportunity for participating parties to join the work successively or alternatively to drop out of the work.