• Kimberly A Van Orden, Emily Bower, Julie Lutz, Caroline Silva, Autumn M Gallegos, Carol A Podgorski, Elizabeth J Santos, and Yeates Conwell.
• University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry.
• Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 May 18.

AbstractOlder age and medical comorbidity are factors associated with more severe illness and risk of death due to COVID-19 infection. Social distancing is an important public health strategy for controlling the spread of the virus and minimizing its impact on the older adult population. It comes at a cost, however. Loneliness is associated with myriad adverse health outcomes, one of which is impaired immune functioning, which adds even greater risk for corona virus infection, complications and death. Older adults, therefore, are at compound risk, making effective management of loneliness and social isolation in our older patients a high priority target for preventive intervention. In this paper, we describe a cognitive-behavioral framework for social connectedness, including evidence-informed strategies clinicians can use to help patients develop a 'Connections Plan' to stay connected and promote their social, mental, and physical health during 'social distancing' restrictions. This set of strategies can be provided during brief (30 minute) telephone sessions and is analogous to creating a 'Safety Plan' for suicide risk. The approach is illustrated with three case examples.© 2020 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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