Social, physical isolation linked to lower uptake of preventive care, study finds

Social and physical isolation are linked to lower uptake of recommended preventive health services, a new study found (Source: “Isolation, financial struggles tied to lower uptake of preventive care,” CIDRAP News, March 24).
 
Investigators at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School reported this week in the Annals of Family Medicine that social isolation was tied to lower use of breast cancer screening and colorectal cancer screening, and physical isolation was linked to reduced uptake of flu vaccination and screening for breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
 
“The complexity of possible causal pathways suggest that policy efforts may be needed on multiple fronts to mitigate the health harms of isolation,” the authors wrote. “Taxi vouchers, mobile vans, or other transportation services are interventions that may improve preventive care uptake among physically isolated patients, although empiric data on the impact of these interventions are limited.”