Understanding Social Prescribing From a Primary Care Perspective V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding Social Prescribing from a Primary Care Perspective: An Ethnographic Study
IRAS ID
250990
Contact name
Bethan Griffith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 0 days
Research summary
Social prescribing allows clinical staff to refer patients to non-clinical interventions. Often operating in primary care many social prescribing schemes employ Link Workers who help patients identify areas for support. Patients are then signposted to local community groups, often run by volunteers. Examples include welfare advice, memory cafes and walking groups. The aims of such schemes are diverse and include tackling social barriers to health, reducing social isolation, building stronger communities and improving GP sustainability. Social prescribing has evolved in response to an increase in chronic diseases, greater awareness of the social determinants of health, health inequalities, and increasing pressure on primary care. It is undoubtedly popular. Endorsed by the Department of Health and the Royal College of General Practitioners it is attracting considerable levels of funding. However, there is limited evidence that it works. One of the proposed reasons for this is the wide range of aims and objectives that different schemes have, making choosing and measuring outcomes very difficult. There are also sceptics in primary care and the lack of evidence threatens to undermine already variable GP engagement. Much of the existing research focuses on patients and little work has been done to understand primary care staff perspectives despite documented concerns about third sector sustainability, patient safeguarding and the potential for subversive commissioning of non-evidence based treatments. Social prescribing generates a complex web of social interactions between primary care staff, their patients, link workers and community organisations. Staff knowledge about social prescribing will be shaped by a number of different factors and perceptions of success and failure will differ. We suggest ethnographic methods are sensitive to this complexity. Ways to Wellness is an established social prescribing initiative serving 17 GP practices in west Newcastle upon Tyne. We propose a multi-sited ethnography of primary care staff undertaking social prescribing.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
18/WS/0155
Date of REC Opinion
29 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion