Scoping Review of Interventions to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness among People Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract Social isolation and loneliness are linked to adverse health outcomes and premature death, especially for persons experiencing homelessness (PEH). There is an urgent need to reduce these conditions in PEH, but evidence on effective interventions is lacking. This scoping review examined studies investigating interventions to address social isolation or loneliness among PEH. We conducted a comprehensive search of health sciences databases for quantitative and qualitative studies published by June 6, 2025. Eligible studies were English-language, peer-reviewed, original research examining interventions for social isolation and loneliness among PEH. Two reviewers screened titles, abstracts, full texts, and extracted study details from included articles. We reviewed 1408 records of which 50 underwent full-text review. Of these, 6 were included in the final review including 3 quantitative, 2 qualitative, and 1 mixed-method studies. All studies were conducted in Europe or North America. Most studies included group-based interventions with small sample sizes and did not investigate social isolation or loneliness as a primary outcome. The only randomized-controlled trial found that a Housing First intervention did not reduce loneliness, indicating that providing housing alone might be insufficient to reduce isolation or loneliness, however, group-based interventions showed promise for reducing these conditions. This review is the first to investigate evidence for interventions to address social isolation and loneliness in PEH. More studies are needed in non-Western locations, with larger sample sizes, and greater uniformity in measurement of social isolation and loneliness as primary outcomes to advance responsive and effective interventions among PEH.