Social Prescribing ethnography study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Exploring the implementation and contextual mechanisms of Social Prescribing across a Primary Care Network: an ethnographic study.

• IRAS ID

  279076

• Contact name

  Daisy Fancourt

• Contact email

  d.fancourt@ucl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Joint Research Office

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  N/A, N/A

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 5 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Background:
  20% of GP appointments are primarily for social reasons, e.g. isolation, housing issues, mild-moderate mental health issues. Social prescribing has been identified as a possible means to support these patients, through referral to community-based groups, services and activities.

  What will the study involve?
  This ethnographic study will be looking at a social prescribing model in a West London Primary Care Network. It aims to understand the effectiveness of this model for its intended audiences and will be split into 3 phases.

  Phase 1 - collaborative development of a "programme theory of change" (or logic model) with key stakeholders across the Primary Care Network: GPs, Link Workers, community groups and patient representatives.
  Phase 2 - the observation/ethnography stage, which will mainly involve observation within the GP setting, Link Worker setting and community groups' settings, and patients' interactions with, and consultations within, those.
  Phase 3 - based on ethnographic findings, refining the original programme theory of change and re-developing this.

  Who will be the participants?
  General Practitioners and other practice staff, Social Prescribing Link Workers, representatives from community groups, and adult patients going through the social prescribing pathway.

  Where will this take place?
  In West London within several GP settings, Link Worker settings and community groups' sites.

  This research is expected to begin in May/June 2020 and last for 4-6 months, including writing up of study outcomes.

  This research is funded by the University College London Hospital charity.

• REC name

  London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  20/LO/1214

• Date of REC Opinion

  14 Dec 2020

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion