Exploring Policy Challenges for Prevention and Management of Lonely Deaths: Using Delphi Method as a Central Methodology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify policy tasks for the prevention and management of lonely deaths using the Delphi method. A Delphi survey was conducted in three rounds, involving 50 experts in the field of lonely deaths prevention and management. The internal validity ratio was analyzed to verify the validity of the study, and an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) was conducted to determine the priority of policy tasks. The results revealed that the legal definition of lonely deaths is an important factor in setting the scope and target of related projects in policy implementation. In addition to personal factors, social structural changes were found to be influencing the causes and impact factors of lonely deaths. Policy tasks for preventing and managing lonely deaths were identified in the areas of investigation/statistics, systems, prevention, service support and linkage/resource development, post-management, and other areas. It was found that as the Act On The Prevention And Management Of Lonely Deaths was mainly focused on post-management and response, there is a great need to enhance the preventive aspect of lonely deaths. Based on these findings, implications for policy formulation for the prevention and management of lonely deaths were derived and provided from both a policy and academic perspective.