The AISSS Project Enhances the Effectiveness of the Vincles System for Early Detection and Intervention in Unwanted Loneliness Through Collaboration Between Social Services and the Health System

Today, November 28, the iSocial Foundation presented the results of the project “Integrated Social and Health Care for Loneliness” (AISSS) at the headquarters of the Social and Health Innovation Hub in Terrassa. After 10 months of work, the project has established the groundwork for incorporating the Health system into the Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran program, led by regional Social Services, aimed at detecting and addressing situations of unwanted loneliness among older adults across the six counties of the Catalan Pyrenees.

The AISSS project first identified 10 health indicators that facilitate the detection of loneliness in older adults, enhancing the big data system Vincles-detecció, which is designed to identify loneliness risks in individuals over 55. Until now, this technological system used 53 indicators derived from the census, the Social Services registry, and community volunteer informants. With the addition of 10 new Health indicators, the system has gained greater reliability and precision.

The inclusion of these new indicators was made possible through a partnership agreement with the Catalan Health Institute (ICS), allowing access to this data in a pilot municipality, Montferrer i Castellbò, in the Alt Urgell region. The data was incorporated into the big data Vincles-detection system, and its algorithms for calculating loneliness risk were updated. This resulted in a slight increase (+3%) in the number of individuals identified as being at risk of loneliness—now 45% of the total—and a significant increase (+21%) in the detection of individuals at high or very high risk of loneliness (23%), compared to previous detection efforts using only social data (2%).

Health data also enabled better targeting of the population over 55 years old to whom the Vincles program is directed. In the pilot municipality, it identified those who are both registered and living there (42%) compared to individuals of the same age group who are registered but reside elsewhere (58%). This phenomenon is common in mountain regions, where many people move to larger towns or valleys upon retirement while maintaining their registration in their place of origin.

Lastly, the AISSS project has improved individual and community interventions for people experiencing unwanted loneliness by fostering collaboration between healthcare teams and Social Services professionals leading the program. Previously, the detection and intervention in loneliness cases by Health and Social Services professionals were carried out separately and often duplicated. Within the AISSS framework, these professionals began working together to provide support and guidance to individuals in socially vulnerable situations and to encourage them to participate in community activities.

As a result, of the 36 additional high-risk individuals identified in Montferrer i Castellbò through health data, 10 received prescribed interventions thanks to healthcare professionals. Additionally, 7 individuals started participating in weekly community activities, and 3 agreed to receive personalized support. The program remains active to address the needs of the remaining detected cases.

Given the success of this pilot initiative, the organizations driving the Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran program aim to extend this model of integrated social and health care for unwanted loneliness to the 77 municipalities across the six counties of the Catalan Pyrenees. This expansion seeks to achieve a more significant positive impact on the well-being of older adults experiencing loneliness.

The AISSS project was carried out between January and October 2024 under the leadership of the iSocial Foundation, with the participation of Antares Consulting, the Alt Urgell Social Care Consortium, the Integra Pirineus Foundation, the Alt Pirineu-Aran Territorial Management of ICS, and the Montferrer i Castellbò City Council. The Basque technology company Gislan and the Basque social organization Agintzari also collaborated, as the Vincles system is an adaptation of the Auzosare system previously developed in the Basque Country by these organizations. Furthermore, the project was made possible through funding and support from the Social and Health Innovation Hub (HISS), which selected this initiative among the top ten projects in its 1st Call for Integrated Social and Health Care Projects to combat unwanted loneliness.