Circle of Friends - an encouraging intervention for alleviating loneliness

The Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older Adults developed a group model Circle of friends (CoF) for lonely older adults. In a randomized controlled trial, it improved lonely older adults’ wellbeing, health, and cognition. It reduced the use of health services and mortality. The aim of this presentation is to describe the successful implementation and dissemination of CoF and its impact in practice, which we believe reflects the rigorous attention to the main elements, careful training of professionals as well as annual quantitative and qualitative analysis and reports of the data. CoF is a closed group of 6-8 participants suffering from loneliness. They meet with their peers 12 times, once a week, for three months. In these closed groups new participants are not added after the group has started, even if some participant(s) drop(s) out. Each group's two facilitators receive thorough training and work supervision along with the group process. From 2006 on CoF has been disseminated into Finnish communities. Altogether 1200 CoF facilitators have been trained so far and at least 12'000 older adults have participated in CoF in 100 communities in Finland. It has maintained its essential elements over the years. According to a ten-year follow-up, 90% of participants felt their loneliness had been alleviated, and over 60% of the participants had continued the meetings after the facilitated group was over. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the CoF was modified into online groups with an easy and safe electronic platform, and free of charge for the participants. During the last years it has been exported to some other countries, for example in the RECETAS project.