Loneliness and social isolation have become epidemics in the United States leading to many negative health consequences. To address this important public health issue, the Activist Lab at the University of South Florida College of Public Health partnered with the Florida Public Health Association to develop a statewide task force focused on identifying and addressing the growing issues of loneliness and social isolation across the state of Florida. This partnership led to the development and implementation of a loneliness and social isolation need assessment that was sent to faculty, staff, and students at the College and through statewide health and social service agencies to collect baseline information that could guide future planning and prevention efforts. Results from the needs assessment showed that most respondents were under the age of 35, felt lonely and isolated, and had a need for more positive social connections. In response, the Activist Lab and task force organized and delivered several educational and outreach events from 2023-2025 in school and community settings. Working as partners, the Activist Lab and task force members had greater reach and allowed for mentoring of younger students by established task force members who represented various state and public health community agencies. Future efforts are planned, including seeking input from diverse populations through focus groups, developing a community-driven strategic plan that specifies goals, objectives, methods, and evaluation strategies to better understand underlying causes of loneliness and isolation including social and structural factors, furthering the reach of outreach efforts, and planning multi-level advocacy approaches to reach agency leads and policymakers. This work highlights the important roles that states and students can play in preventing the negative health consequences of loneliness and social isolation in Florida and beyond.
Liller et al. (2026) studied this question.