The Connecting for Better Health project is a five-year National Health and Medical Research Council funded research project awarded to the Monash University Health Economics Group. The project aims to understand how loneliness and social isolation affect people who are at risk of, or already have, a health condition.

The Connecting for Better Health project team invite you to take part in a survey to tell us which aspects of programs to reduce loneliness and social isolation you do and don’t like. You do not have to have used a program to reduce loneliness or social isolation to take part. Loneliness is when you do not feel connected or like you belong with other people and this makes you feel unhappy. Social isolation is when you do not see or have much contact with other people.

There are good programs to reduce loneliness or social isolation in the community, but some community members do not want to use them. It is very important to hear from community members who feel lonely or socially isolated about why they don’t want to use programs and what can be done to make these programs better. 

We are looking for people who are, or have been, lonely or socially isolated and who also have had a diagnosed health condition for 12 months or more. Examples of health conditions are kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, mental health conditions (e.g. anxiety, depression), arthritis and asthma.

The survey will take about 25 minutes to do. You do not have to complete the survey all
in one go, and you can come back to it. The survey has two parts. In the first part, we will ask you about which parts of programs to help people who are lonely or socially isolated you like best. In the second part of the survey, we want to collect some information about you, the services you use and your health.

The survey can be completed by clicking this link: 

https://enter.surveyengine.com/r.156e.a4a4.kttq0js13o57movucv79n60lbi1tmpuk73439ldt60m6bajokh5efru3hhuvcbtk7jdmpodjkfv9hlbhcv250jhk8h009g6v117351demvcbe42sk6747246phuchrs6tkfchard24t03hvo3l85rhv2lviedtakp3ah3djedoo7oifgde5h8ivojai1kfpkeo3nom7jeo130

After completing the survey, you will be given the chance to enter into a draw to win one of ten $50 e-gift cards. You will need to provide your name and email address in order to
receive this reimbursement, which will be kept separately and will not be linked to your
survey responses. The survey will remain open until Sunday 4 October, 2026. The prize draw will be run after we have checked all responses to make sure they are valid. Winners who are eligible will be contacted using the email address they provide in the survey.

• Person with early stage kidney disease
• Person on dialysis / transplant