Almost one quarter of the people in Metro Vancouver could be suffering from social isolation, according to early results from the My Health My Community survey.
Of the 9,000 surveys received so far, 15 per cent of respondents have stated that they suffer from some form of social isolation as a contributing factor to their stress levels.
"If you extrapolate this to the larger population we could be looking at more than 300,000 people in Metro Vancouver having to deal with social isolation," Dr. James Lu, medical health officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, said in a press release. "This means there could be a significant number of individuals who have no people in their network to confide in."
The purpose of the My Health My Community survey, according to Lu, is to identify opportunities for programs and services that various community partners can work together to implement.
"Initiatives such as community gardens, adult day programs and childcare services all contribute to positive social experiences and a feeling of belonging," Lu said.
More than 40 per cent of the people who reported being socially isolated said they have a weak sense of belonging to a community.
Early survey results have also uncovered a link between social isolation and recent immigration. About one in two socially isolated respondents arrived in Canada less than five years ago.
The My Health My Community survey was created in partnership by VCH, Fraser Health and the UBC Faculty of Medicine's eHealth Strategy Office. The survey can be completed at myhealthmycommunity.org until the end of March.
