Skip to main content

COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1422126
This article is part of the Research Topic International Perspectives on Older Adult Social Isolation and Loneliness View all 51 articles

A Community Methodological Protocol of a Multisector Collective Impact Collaboration to Address Older Adult Isolation in a Rural County in the U.S

Provisionally accepted
Christine Marcos Christine Marcos 1*Michael Castellano Michael Castellano 2Lindsey Skripka Lindsey Skripka 3Lenard W. Kaye Lenard W. Kaye 4
  • 1 Moses Taylor Foundation, Scranton, United States
  • 2 United Way of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 3 Meals on Wheels of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 4 Center on Aging, School of Social Work, University of Maine, Bangor, Maine, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In 2019, a community collaborative of nearly thirty health care, social service, philanthropic, and government organizations came together to construct a community-wide plan to reduce older adult isolation in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Although such collaborations have been pursued before, the current one has exceeded expectations, launched a promising pilot, and formed exciting ripple effects throughout the region's aging services landscape. Among the implementation strategies informing the initiative are the use of an interorganizational shared screening tool to identify isolation risk, a team of older adult peer navigators to provide one-on-one assistance and foster connections for those who are isolated, and a major public awareness campaign to educate residents on the negative health impacts of isolation and reduce the stigma felt by many living socially disconnected lives. This article will summarize the methodological process used in developing a cohesive, multi-sector collective impact coalition, as well as examine the limitations and future directions for this initiative.

    Keywords: older adults, Isolation, rural, Aging, social connection, collaboration, collective impact

    Received: 23 Apr 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Marcos, Castellano, Skripka and Kaye. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Christine Marcos, Moses Taylor Foundation, Scranton, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.