A feasibility study for an RCT of nature-based social prescribing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A development and feasibility study for an RCT of nature-based social prescribing for mental health
IRAS ID
317076
Contact name
Ruth Garside
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 17 days
Research summary
The aim of this project is to develop and test the feasibility of a research plan for a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) of nature-based social prescribing for people with mental ill-health.
Social prescribing is growing in the UK. GPs can refer people to community activities as an alternative, or add-on, to clinical treatment. Increasingly, GPs have access to Link Workers who support patients (often with mental ill-health) to identify appropriate activities such as: choirs; volunteering; or nature-based activities. Many nature-based activities have been introduced and, while many have been evaluated, few have used robust and reliable study designs, such as RCTs.
Nature-based social prescribing is complex; using complex health systems, and interventions that include multiple interacting parts and partners. Before undertaking an RCT, it is important to ensure the plans for that research are feasible, appropriate and acceptable, so that the outcomes will be meaningful.
We will consult with people involved in social prescribing including: GPs, Link Workers, nature-based activity providers, potential research participants and service users. Working together, we will design a research plan to define the target population, determine appropriate outcomes and identify the comparison group. The activities that will be tested will be mapped to the key pathways to impact that we identified in a previous project, and described in the Nature on Prescription Handbook.
We will test the plan with a small number of GPs, nature-based activity providers and participants to make sure it is feasible, achievable and acceptable. This will ensure the proposed processes are sound and achievable, we are able to recruit enough people, and that the questionnaires used to measure impact are appropriate.
The outcome of the study will be a protocol for a future RCT which will assess the effectiveness of nature-based social prescribing for people with mental ill-health.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0331
Date of REC Opinion
13 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion