Jim Lubben’s quest to inform the world that “social isolation kills” at a level similar to smoking has taken him all over the globe, from California to Singapore and beyond. Most recently, Lubben presented on the topic at the First International Seminar on Research in Social Science for the Improvement of Society at Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona, Spain.
As the author of the Lubben Social Network Scale, which helps to screen for social isolation among older adult populations, Lubben discussed how to use the scale as a measure of social isolation. His remarks also took a broad view of how forging better social connections and creating more supportive communities can improve the psychological and physical health of millions of vulnerable citizens.
Following the talk, Lubben was interviewed by Ara, the most read newspaper in Catalan worldwide, which is based in Barcelona. If you can read Catalan, check out the paper’s Q&A with BCSSW’s Louise McMahon Ahearn Endowed Professor below.