Social Prescribing through Primary Care: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Chris Griffiths · Farah Hina · Harmony Jiang

28 citations0/0 files storedOpen Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Art Therapy and Mental Health Evaluation and Performance Assessment Health, psychology, and well-being

Abstract

Background: In primary care, social prescribing (SP) is where a patient is referred to a “link worker”, who considers their needs and then “prescribes” or connects them to appropriate community-based resources and services. Recent policy and guidance in the UK has significantly expanded the provision of SP to improve patient health and wellbeing. Methods: This study conducted a systematic review of evidence for SP effectiveness and to report needs addressed, interventions provided, and behaviour change techniques employed. Inclusion criterion was patient referral from primary care to a SP link worker. Online databases were searched for studies published from February 2016 to July 2021. Searches were restricted to English language only. Risk of bias assessment and a narrative analysis were undertaken. Results: Eight studies were included. All studies reported some positive outcomes. There were weaknesses and limitations in study design and in reporting of results: a lack of comparative controls, short duration and single point follow-up, a lack of standardised assessments, missing data, and a failure to consider potential confounding factors. All studies had features which indicated a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Evidence for the value and positive impact of SP is accumulating, but evaluation design remains relatively weak. There is a need to improve evaluation through robust methodological design and the adoption of universal outcome measures and evaluation/analytical framework. SP should seek to assess patient wellbeing, self-management, and quality of lifeoutcomes systematically, and adopt behaviour change techniques to enable healthier lifestyles in the short and long term.

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References

2017Social prescribing: less rhetoric and more reality. A systematic review of the evidence 2019What approaches to social prescribing work, for whom, and in what circumstances? A realist review 2017Link Worker social prescribing to improve health and well-being for people with long-term conditions: qualitative study of service user perceptions 2017Effects of a museum-based social prescription intervention on quantitative measures of psychological wellbeing in older adults 2008Can social prescribing provide the missing link?2017The impact of a social prescribing service on patients in primary care: a mixed methods evaluation 2018Understanding the effectiveness and mechanisms of a social prescribing service: a mixed method analysis 2020Social Prescribing as ‘Social Cure’: A longitudinal study of the health benefits of social connectedness within a Social Prescribing pathway

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