We understand social isolation as people’s inability to connect and engage with others and a lack of sense of belonging.

The Scottish Highlands is a location at high risk of loneliness and social isolation due to being one of Europe’s most sparsely populated areas.
Our group of young women based in the Highlands, the Young Women Lead Highland cohort, identified gaps in conversations on social isolation as they tend to focus on urban areas and factors related to ageing. We then decided to explore social isolation and loneliness in the Highland Council region from young women’s perspective instead.