Investigating rural social prescribing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration and evaluation of the practice of social prescribing in a rural area
IRAS ID
295236
Contact name
Coco Moore
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Worcester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 31 days
Research summary
Social prescribing (SP) refers to using community resources to address health and wellbeing needs. This mainly happens through healthcare professionals referring patients to community groups, classes, or activities instead of (or in addition to) medical treatment. The practice developed gradually with different schemes arising in different areas in response to local needs and infrastructure, also known as ‘bottom up’ development. This meant a wide range of ideas, models, and definitions across the country.
However, the potential of SP has been increasingly recognised, which led to the NHS funding it and implementing standardised practice, which is known as a ‘top down’ approach. It is unknown whether this approach creates equal, standardised services, or prevents localised, tailored development and innovation. It is also widely recognised that SP lacks robust evidence. Additionally, no research has examined how rural populations engage in SP, as they often have vastly different infrastructure, communities and needs compared to urban settings.
This research is the final phase in a three-phase PhD project. The first phase consisted of a survey of GPs in Herefordshire and Worcestershire to understand their engagement with the NHS model of SP. This phase has been written up as a journal article which is currently being submitted for peer review. Secondly, the researcher conducted interviews with a selection of social prescribing link workers across the CCG. This application relates to the third phase of the project, which will involve social prescribing service users. The research aims to interview a small selection of rural and urban service users to explore their experiences and perceptions of social prescribing and challenges and facilitators they face.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/0306
Date of REC Opinion
5 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion