ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Caitlin Barba, MPH; Lina Brou, MPH, PhD; Miriam Dickinson, PhD; R. Scott Hammond, MD; Glenn Kotz, MD; Donald E. Nease, Jr., MD; Rebecca Mullen, MD, MPH
Corresponding Author: Rebecca Mullen, MD, MPH; Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado.
Email: REBECCA.MULLEN@cuanschutz.edu
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2025.250356R1
Keywords: Behavioral Science, Colorado, Loneliness, Patient Preference, Prevalence, Primary Health Care, Psychosocial Intervention, Social Problems, Surveys and Questionnaires
Dates: Submitted: 09-10-2025; Revised: 02-06-2026; Accepted: 02-23-2026
Status: In Press.
BACKGROUND: The United States is currently experiencing a loneliness epidemic, yet little is known about patient preferences of loneliness interventions or if loneliness subtype (emotional/ social) influences intervention preference. This study describes the prevalence of loneliness in the primary care practice setting and patient interest in a list of loneliness interventions informed by a primary care clinic’s Patient Advisory Council.
METHODS: We conducted cross-sectional surveys of patients presenting for routine care in July 2019 and August 2021 of adults at 5-7 outpatient primary care practices in Colorado affiliated with the ART2 practice-based research network. The 6-item De Jong Gierveld was utilized to capture emotional and social loneliness.
RESULTS: The prevalence of loneliness was 45.7% (247/540) in the initial sample and 42.9% (228/531) in second sample, (p=.3559). Volunteering in the community was of interest to half of all participants, but there was less interest in this intervention with lonely participants. Talking to a therapist was the only intervention that participants with any loneliness subtype were more likely to be interested in than participants without loneliness, including social loneliness (aOR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.22, 3.42), emotional loneliness (aOR: 5.13, 95% CI: 3.05, 8.62), and social and emotional loneliness (aOR: 7.01, 95% CI: 4.52, 10.89).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that loneliness is common in adult primary care patients and that therapy is the intervention with the most significant interest among all loneliness subtypes (social loneliness, emotional loneliness, both loneliness types). Further patient-engagement work should emphasize loneliness intervention development and implementation in primary care.