social prescribing interventions for health and well-being
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study into the effectiveness of social prescribing interventions as a means to effectively address health and well-being issues for non-critical conditions
IRAS ID
242972
Contact name
Mark Griffiths
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
PUBLIC HEALTH WALES
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 14 days
Research summary
There is increasing demand for healthcare services, and this is putting a greater strain on NHS finances and the workforce. There is a Parliamentary Review of Health and Social Care in Wales and one area of focus is on integrating services between health and social care to improve patient outcomes. One initiative being taken more seriously across the UK to help reduce demand upon healthcare services is social prescribing. Social prescribing is a means of enabling primary care services to refer patients with social, emotional or practical needs to a range of local, non-clinical services. Examples include arts activities, gardening, cookery, and a range of sports. Evidence as to the effectiveness of such schemes is largely anecdotal. The few studies that have been done in this area point toward cost savings for the NHS, improved patient wellbeing, and the potential to decrease demand upon GPs. What is not known are the longer term benefits, both to the mental and physical wellbeing for patients from receiving a ‘social referral’ or more generally upon healthcare use. This is in part due to the lack of studies using controlled trials or follow up of patients.
This study will research recruitment and retention into a social prescribing scheme using a social prescribing coordinator (a link worker between the GP and patient) in rural community settings with a number of unique health care needs. Physical and wellbeing measures will be investigated. Qualitative data will be captured throughout the project, by means of a lessons log kept by the coordinator, interviews and following a focus group discussion at the end of the study. The outcomes from this will aim to demonstrate that it is possible to conduct a research study in rural Wales for a social prescribing project, and lay the ground work for a larger study.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
18/WS/0057
Date of REC Opinion
27 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion