Understanding Social Prescribing as a ‘Social Cure’ and adapting pathways to meet the needs of vulnerable groups

Social Prescribing is a novel initiative in healthcare delivery. It moves beyond the medical model by recognising the important role played by social factors in the development and maintenance of chronic illness, and aims to address the health problems associated with social isolation by linking at-risk individuals to local community supports. Social Prescribing  has enormous potential to produce important health benefits for individuals and communities, and to enable patients’ interactions with healthcare services to be more productive and beneficial.

However, questions remain concerning how, and for whom, Social Prescribing works. Researchers from the Department of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University will present the results of two large Social Prescribing evaluation projects, and consider how this knowledge can be used to adapt Social Prescribing to meet the needs of two very different vulnerable populations.

This day-long event will take place at Nottingham Trent University on 16th December 2019 and will:

Outline the current state of knowledge regarding Social Prescribing, as well as highlight the need for Social Prescribing to have a strong theoretical underpinning.

Present primary evidence of the benefits of Social Prescribing for patients’ health, wellbeing, and service use.

Present primary evidence of the benefits of Social Prescribing for patients’ social connectedness, including  the unique value of volunteering in allowing people to engage with their communities.

Discuss the benefits and challenges of applying Social Prescribing to two different vulnerable populations: displaced migrants and residents in financial distress

Discuss the challenges facing organisations involved in supporting vulnerable populations, as well as highlight opportunities for collaboration between organisations and academics.

There will be a strong focus on networking, and the event will include interactive workshops to foster collaboration between academics, organisations working with vulnerable populations, and those involved in delivering and/or commissioning Social Prescribing programmes.