The bio-psycho-social model of illness encourages healthcare practitioners to think beyond anatomy and physiology to consider how the interplay of mind, body and social circumstances affect health and wellbeing. Medicine has much to offer in treating the biological aetiology of illness and recent commitments to parity of esteem are expected to give equal priority to addressing social, psychological and physical aspects of health. To date, however, the capacity for healthcare practitioners to address the social problems that precipitate and perpetuate ill health have been limited. Social prescribing is a means by which healthcare professionals seek to address the non-medical causes of ill health with non-medical interventions. This paper reviews the evidence for the impact and costs of social prescribing.
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