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Oluwatimileyin Aborisade, a medical sociologist and a doctoral researcher, argues that social isolation among older adults is quietly changing health outcomes and calls for a new approach.
In discussing his research he points out health inequities, and technology, Aborisade emphasized that understanding social isolation requires moving beyond static assumptions and instead examining how it unfolds over time through interconnected transitions, structural inequities, and patterns of social engagement.
In her words: “Social isolation is not an abstract experience. It is patterned, predictable, and deeply connected to social structures such as migration, retirement, health decline, and economic insecurity.”
Aborisade utilizes qualitative, mixed-methods research, and AI frameworks to identify early signs of social isolation that exist in interviews, policies, and records on older adults’ experiences.
What sets Aborisade’s work apart, she said, is her commitment to ethical and inclusive research, “leveraging technology to augment, not replace, human understanding.”
“AI should help us listen better, not speak over people,” she noted. “My work is designed to amplify older adults’ voices while allowing policymakers to see broader patterns that individual case studies alone cannot reveal.”
According to Aborisade, “My work is very policy-oriented, and its informed by my experience as an editor of the Journal of Elder Policies and my research on quality of life. I try to use sociological research to help healthcare providers and community organizations think about solutions.”
“Solutions to social isolation must be preventive, not reactive. If we can predict vulnerability earlier, we can design programs that preserve dignity, independence, and connection.”
Aborisade’s work also seeks to address the often-overlooked and underserved populations of immigrant and marginalized older adults.
“My goal is equity in aging. No one should become invisible simply because they are older, live alone, or fall outside dominant social categories.”
As the world’s population continues to experience an increasing rate of aging, it is clear that Aborisade’s work is part of a broader, and rapidly expanding, shift towards a socially driven and technology-based approach to the study of aging.
