Group singing on social prescription: A scoping review

Abstract

The aim of this international scoping review was to assess the evidence of group singing as a form of social prescription. While efforts have grown over the last two decades to catalogue and evaluate the health benefits of arts and cultural activities as part of social prescribing, there has been limited exploration into group singing on social prescription, specifically. Given the growing body of research supporting the health and wellbeing gains of both group singing and social prescribing, this first scoping review is needed and timely. Published evidence is very limited at the moment, and only nine studies met the eligibility requirements. Identified barriers to wider integration of singing on prescription included lack of formalization of the social prescribing process, challenges solidifying buy-in from general practitioners and other healthcare professionals, difficulties sustaining funding, and shifts to organizational structure resulting in staff changeover and loss of institutional knowledge. Recommendations for future research, wider implementation of singing on social prescription and standardization of evaluation methods are included.