Abstract
BackgroundSocial Prescribing is a service in primary care that involves the referral of patients with non-clinical needs to local services and activities provided by the third sector (community, voluntary, and social enterprise sector). Social Prescribing aims to promote partnership working between the health and the social sector to address the wider determinants of health. To date, there is a weak evidence base for Social Prescribing services. The objective of the review was to identify factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation and delivery of SP services based in general practice involving a navigator.MethodsWe searched eleven databases, the grey literature, and the reference lists of relevant studies to identify the barriers and facilitators to the implementation and delivery of Social Prescribing services in June and July 2016. Searches were limited to literature written in English. No date restrictions were applied. Findings were synthesised narratively, employing thematic analysis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool Version 2011 was used to evaluate the methodological quality of included studies.ResultsEight studies were included in the review. The synthesis identified a range of factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation and delivery of SP services. Facilitators and barriers were related to: the implementation approach, legal agreements, leadership, management and organisation, staff turnover, staff engagement, relationships and communication between partners and stakeholders, characteristics of general practices, and the local infrastructure. The quality of most included studies was poor and the review identified a lack of published literature on factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation and delivery of Social Prescribing services.ConclusionThe review identified a range of factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation and delivery of Social Prescribing services. Findings of this review provide an insight for commissioners, managers, and providers to guide the implementation and delivery of future Social Prescribing services. More high quality research and transparent reporting of findings is needed in this field.
Highlights
Social Prescribing is a service in primary care that involves the referral of patients with non-clinical needs to local services and activities provided by the third sector
Social Prescribing (SP) expands the range of options available to General Practitioners (GPs), as it creates a formal means of enabling GPs to link patients with non-medical sources of support within the third sector [2, 6]
The current review focused on facilitators and barriers to the implementation of SP models based in general practice involving a navigator
Summary
Social Prescribing is a service in primary care that involves the referral of patients with non-clinical needs to local services and activities provided by the third sector (community, voluntary, and social enterprise sector). Despite the potential benefits and policy attention, third sector (community, voluntary, and social enterprise sector) support to address the wider determinants of health in primary care often remains underused due to weak or non-existent links between the two sectors [5]. Social Prescribing (SP) is a relatively new approach in primary care that promotes partnership working between the health and the third sector [5]. SP expands the range of options available to General Practitioners (GPs), as it creates a formal means of enabling GPs to link patients with non-medical sources of support within the third sector [2, 6].
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