Social prescribing - the connection of people to communities, services and activities to meet their practical, social and emotional needs - has become an increasingly important element of healthcare policy. As debate intensifies over an appropriate national model, this new book provides the first comprehensive overview of the entire concept of social prescribing.
Social Prescribing pulls together arguments, evidence and resources to define social prescribing and analyze how it can change lives. It considers a range of paradigms for improving health and wellbeing through social approaches, and provides real-life examples of where the theory has been realized in practice.
The book is well-balanced and easy to understand, making it ideal for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policy makers who are interested in exploring the potential of social prescribing for improving health and wellbeing.
Editor Heather Henry is former chair of New NHS Alliance (now The Health Creation Alliance CIC), which influences national health strategy and policy on health inequalities and wellbeing. Her NHS career in primary care as both a practising Queen's Nurse and NHS director, combined with her experience of the voluntary community and social enterprise sector, ideally qualifies her to curate and interpret a wide range of contributions from household names to seldom-heard voices.
Social Prescribing pulls together arguments, evidence and resources to define social prescribing and analyze how it can change lives. It considers a range of paradigms for improving health and wellbeing through social approaches, and provides real-life examples of where the theory has been realized in practice.
The book is well-balanced and easy to understand, making it ideal for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policy makers who are interested in exploring the potential of social prescribing for improving health and wellbeing.
Editor Heather Henry is former chair of New NHS Alliance (now The Health Creation Alliance CIC), which influences national health strategy and policy on health inequalities and wellbeing. Her NHS career in primary care as both a practising Queen's Nurse and NHS director, combined with her experience of the voluntary community and social enterprise sector, ideally qualifies her to curate and interpret a wide range of contributions from household names to seldom-heard voices.
- Presents a balanced approach to the current debates and critiques of social prescribing
- Summarises the main arguments with supporting evidence and resources
- Covers the history and current policy, and provides a detailed analysis of the evidence base around how social prescribing can improve wellbeing
- Offers different paradigms and models of social prescribing, including concepts around power, control, relationships, economics, recognizing strengths and assets, managing complexity, and enabling self-organisation
- Includes perspectives from an impressive list of contributors, from eminent thought leaders like Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Lord Gus O’Donnell to local leaders, citizens and voices from all levels in the system
- Extends beyond health and care to other sectors that impact the social determinants of health including urgent and emergency services, housing and education
- Uses accessible language throughout - suitable for anyone from system leaders to researchers, educators, practitioners and students
Table of Contents
1 Introduction2 Social Prescribing-Where Did It Come From and Where Is It Going?
3 What Is Wellbeing and What Keeps Us Well?
4 History of Social Prescribing
5 The Link to Health Equity
6 Does Social Prescribing ‘Work’?
7 Summary Section 1 Setting the Scene
8 Personalised Care
9 Going Upstream: Community Power and the Community Paradigm
10 Interview With Lord Gus O’Donnell
11 Primary Care, Health Creation and the Role of Social Prescribing
12 Relational Welfare
13 Summary Section 2 Paradigms
14 Social Prescribing With Children & Young People
15 An Ethnographic View of General Practice
16 Social Prescribing: A Panacea or Another Top-Down Programme
17 The NHS Foundation Trust as Catalyst for Change
18 The View From the VCSE Sector
19 Workforce Transformation
20 Summary Section 3 Perspectives
21 Connecting Community
22 The DeStress-II Project: Enhancing Primary Care Responses to Poverty-Related Mental Distress
23 Learning From Buurtzorg in Community Nursing Services
24 The Contribution of Allied Health Professionals
25 The Role of Urgent and Emergency Services
26 Housing, Health and Wellbeing: Perfect Partners
27 Building Hope for a Better Future Fleetwood: A Small Town With a Big Heart
28 London’s Commitment to Social Prescribing
29 Summary Section 4 Practice
30 Conclusion
