Improving participation: Addressing loneliness and social isolation in populations

Loneliness and social isolation are recognized public health crises: In 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2024) declared loneliness an epidemic. Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) are addressing this issue by embedding social participation goals into practice, supporting engagement in meaningful occupations, and collaborating across disciplines. In this article, we share an example from occupational therapy practice in home health that highlights how OTPs help clients rebuild social routines after life changes, using the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (OTPF-4; American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020).