Models of social prescribing to address non-medical needs in adults: a scoping review
- PMID: 37316920
- PMCID: PMC10268538
- DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09650-x
Models of social prescribing to address non-medical needs in adults: a scoping review
Abstract
Background: The health and wellbeing consequences of social determinants of health and health behaviours are well established. This has led to a growing interest in social prescribing, which involves linking people to services and supports in the community and voluntary sectors to address non-medical needs. However, there is considerable variability in approaches to social prescribing with little guidance on how social prescribing could be developed to reflect local health systems and needs. The purpose of this scoping review was to describe the types of social prescribing models used to address non-medical needs to inform co-design and decision-making for social prescribing program developers.
Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE(R), CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform, and ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses for articles and grey literature describing social prescribing programs. Reference lists of literature reviews were also searched. The searches were conducted on 2 August 2021 and yielded 5383 results following removal of duplicates.
Results: 148 documents describing 159 social prescribing programs were included in the review. We describe the contexts in which the programs were delivered, the program target groups and services/supports to which participants were referred, the staff involved in the programs, program funding, and the use of digital systems.
Conclusions: There is significant variability in social prescribing approaches internationally. Social prescribing programs can be summarised as including six planning stages and six program processes. We provide guidance for decision-makers regarding what to consider when designing social prescribing programs.
Keywords: Community referral; Scoping review; Social determinants of health; Social prescribing.
© 2023. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Figures
![Fig. 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig2_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig3_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig4_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig5_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 6](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig6_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 7](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig7_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 8](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig8_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 9](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/10268538/bin/12913_2023_9650_Fig9_HTML.gif)
Similar articles
-
Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia.Med J Aust. 2020 Dec;213 Suppl 11:S3-S32.e1. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50881. Med J Aust. 2020. PMID: 33314144
-
Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 1;2(2022):CD014217. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014217. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PMID: 36321557 Free PMC article.
-
Searching for Real-World Effectiveness of Health Care Innovations: Scoping Study of Social Prescribing for Diabetes.J Med Internet Res. 2017 Feb 2;19(2):e20. doi: 10.2196/jmir.6431. J Med Internet Res. 2017. PMID: 28153817 Free PMC article.
-
Deprescribing medicines in older people living with multimorbidity and polypharmacy: the TAILOR evidence synthesis.Health Technol Assess. 2022 Jul;26(32):1-148. doi: 10.3310/AAFO2475. Health Technol Assess. 2022. PMID: 35894932 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Theory and practical guidance for effective de-implementation of practices across health and care services: a realist synthesis.Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2021 Feb. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2021 Feb. PMID: 33555774 Free Books & Documents. Review.
Cited by
-
The process of co-designing a model of social prescribing: An Australian case study.Health Expect. 2024 Jun;27(3):e14087. doi: 10.1111/hex.14087. Health Expect. 2024. PMID: 38783775 Free PMC article.
-
Social Prescribing Competence among Community Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students in Norway.Pharmacy (Basel). 2024 Mar 1;12(2):43. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy12020043. Pharmacy (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38525723 Free PMC article.
References
-
- The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners . General practice: Health of the nation 2020. Australia: RACGP; 2020.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical