LONELINESS AS A NOVEL PUBLIC PROBLEM - OUTLINES TO CREATE AN "ANTI-LONELINESS" POLICY

The purpose of this paper is to consider loneliness as a public (policy) problem and to review current "anti-loneliness" policies in Europe and the world, in order to offer guidelines for anti-loneliness policy in a particular area. The approach to this issue is based on methods characteristic for the public policy science. Firstly, the paper explains what qualifies some situation to be perceived as a public problem. It has been shown that loneliness throughout Europe and the world is a serious public problem and that various measures (policies) are taken against it. The paper presents current knowledge and experience on loneliness as a public problem. The final part of the paper analyzes the common elements of anti-loneliness and anti-isolation policies (worldwide) and offers guidelines for the development of anti-loneliness policy in areas where such policies have yet to be adopted.