Understanding of solitary death in people living in the community: A scoping review

This scoping review aimed to understand the comprehensive evidence on solitary death occurring in the community. A database search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL using the following keywords: live alone, solitary death, and community. A manual search was also conducted using Google Scholar. Sixteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Approximately 60% of studies were retrospective, and 53.3% were conducted in Japan. The studies included in the review described solitary death using different expressions. However, they consistently encompassed the shared notion of a death experienced in the absence of anyone's presence, in a state of social isolation. Most solitary deaths occur at home and are discovered by family, neighbors, police officers, or someone who visited regularly. The risk of solitary death is higher among middle-aged and older adults, particularly among men, individuals living alone, those with low socioeconomic status or poor health conditions, and those experiencing social isolation. People who live alone are at particularly high risk for solitary death. The findings present insights into how solitary death has been defined in research, as well as how and why solitary death occurs in the community. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of intervention programs and government policies to prevent solitary death.<b>Protocol registration:</b> https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AE39Q.