New LMWS campaign connects with older people in Leeds

Monday 9 May 2022

LMWS is launching a new campaign to engage older people across Leeds with both LMWS and wider services and support.

Developed in collaboration with specialist behavioural change agency, Magpie, the campaign will work to address inequalities in mental health support by targeting older people from some of Leeds’ most deprived areas.

Informed by local insight work and translated into Urdu, Punjabi and Polish, the campaign seeks to raise awareness of local support, whilst encouraging older people to feel comfortable and confident in seeking help when they need it.

Launched during Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, the campaign will align with this year’s theme of ‘loneliness’ by exploring its impact on mental health and feelings of isolation amongst older people in Leeds.

Insight

Already an area of concern, mental health issues amongst those aged 65+ have reached a peak during the pandemic. It’s estimated that depression affects around 22% of men and 28% of women aged 65 years and over (1), and recent research by Age UK found that 33% of older people feel more anxious post-pandemic and 34% feel less motivated to do the things they enjoy (2).

LMWS’ campaign was informed by a survey and discussions conducted by Magpie at various Leeds community groups including Burmantofts Senior Action Group, Richmond Hill Community Café and Seacroft Men’s Group. This work uncovered that while awareness and understanding of mental health issues were strong, the target group lacked knowledge of how look after their mental health and/or access support.

Older people were most likely to look to their friends and family for help, whilst others preferred to speak to their GP. However, many felt they should be able to manage their mental health themselves and did not want to be a burden on others.

Loneliness

Loneliness is broadly defined as the feeling that arises when our specific need for rewarding social contact is not met. There is a strong correlation between loneliness and poor mental and physical health – research has found that loneliness and poor social connection can increase risk of depression in later life as well as high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease (3).

While loneliness impacts people of all ages, it is a particularly prevalent issue amongst older adults. According to Age UK, more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. Their research found this situation has worsened since the pandemic; 41% of older adults said they felt lonely, while 27% said they spoke less to family than before (4).

The LMWS campaign seeks to encourage and support older people to access help when they are experiencing loneliness and/or the common mental health difficulties this can cause, whether this is by connecting with family and friends, reaching out to community support or by contacting LMWS.    

Addressing the imbalance

Despite a clear need for support, it’s estimated that 85% of older people with depression receive no help at all from the NHS (5).

LMWS Clinical Lead, Jan Thomson said:

'Loneliness can affect our mental health at all ages, especially after the isolation of the pandemic, yet research shows that older people are far less likely to access support. We hope our campaign can begin to address this imbalance by reaching the older people in Leeds who need us most. We want to spread the word about the city's many wonderful communities and services that are here to help.'

Helena Hamilton, Campaign Consultant at Magpie, said:

'At Magpie, we are all about creating healthier and happier communities through our campaigns, crucially working with the audience to ensure any communications targeting them are co-developed and grounded in insight so they are as effective as they can be. Working with older adults in Leeds to raise awareness of local mental health services has been a privilege and we hope this campaign will help raise awareness, and confidence, amongst this audience group to seek help if they need it.'

For more information on the campaign or the issues raised, please visit:

• LMWS campaign resources
• Mental Health Foundation
• Mindwell Leeds
• Leeds Mind
• Every Mind Matters - NHS
• The Campaign to End Loneliness.

References

(1) The Times, 2014
(2) Age UK, 2022
(3) Halt-Lunstad, 2015
(4) Age UK, 2022
(5) The Times, 2014