How social prescribing can make positive changes to health and wellbeing

Since 2017 the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR), based at PRIME Centre Wales funded by Health and Care Research Wales, has strived to improve people's wellbeing through the implementation of social prescribing within Welsh primary care services. Researchers hope to understand more about how our health and wellbeing can improve through increased social interaction with our communities, alongside or instead of prescribing medication as treatment.  

Social prescribing aims to help people reconnect with activities, groups and services in their community to address physical, social and emotional needs that impact their health and wellbeing. Prescribing activities can range from volunteering to community gardening, walking in the park with a friend or joining a yoga class.  

Individuals usually receive a referral from their GP to be "buddied up" with a social prescribing practitioner sometimes called a link worker or community connecter. Social Prescribing practitioners listen to people to try and understand their situation, identify what the problem is and then connect to people in the community to uncover social solutions to support them.  

Professor Carolyn Wallace, Director of WSSPR added:   

“It's important to listen to people's concerns and frustrations and assist them in navigating the situation. This involves creating a plan to move forward and helping them rebuild their lives.  

“Social prescribing has proven to be an effective solution for doctors and other professionals to aid those in need. Research shows social prescribing can reduce the pressure on the NHS by decreasing GP appointments and medical prescriptions.”  

Professor Wallace has also revealed her work to develop a new tool aimed at helping families with children five years and under navigate difficult and stressful situations such as bereavement or financial distress. 

Family resilience refers to a families’ ability to maintain good care of each other, even when they go through difficult times. Professor Wallace said the Family Resilience Assessment Instrument and Tool (FRAIT) will help health visitors identify support needed for families to deal with their hardships, promote overall wellbeing and help to drive a proactive approach to family resilience.  

She said: “The FRAIT is for Health Visitors to use in their everyday practice to assess the early identification of problems within families and to help identify the support needed for families to deal with their hardships and promote overall wellbeing.  

“NHS Wales aims to have an all-Wales approach to identifying family needs based on consistent and reliable assessments, prudent use of health resources and measurable health outcomes. This will help to improve the state of the nation's health in the short and long term.”   

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