Glossary
Social prescribing
Referral by a health service to choirs, walking groups, gardening or volunteering rather than to a prescription pad. England has employed link workers since 2019, and whether the programme improves health outcomes is still an open question.
Published Updated
Chapters of the book that mention Social prescribing
Where this comes from
In the reference topic that owns this term
Reference topic 42, The Handrail III: People, Attention, Meaning, states the mismatch as a card: what the system evolved to expect, what it gets instead, and what happens in the gap.
Mismatch card
- What it expects
Daily presence among a small, stable group; touch as a routine event; effort before reward; a role the group depends on.
- What it gets
A wide, thin network delivered through glass, touch made optional, reward decoupled from effort, and purpose left to arrange itself.
- What happens in the gap
Inner-layer relationships go unfed without anyone noticing, stress physiology loses a regulator, and low purpose and low participation track higher mortality in large cohorts.
What that chapter recommends
3 of the 8 graded recommendations in Reference topic 42, strongest evidence first. How the grades work.
Spend the budget inward
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.The layered-network research implies that the effort you can put into relationships is finite. It buys the most in the inner layers: the closest three to five people and the nine to 15 around them.
Keep touch in the repertoire, where it is welcome
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Moderate-pressure contact is associated with lower cortisol, lower heart rate and higher vagal activity. No frequency has been established, so no daily quota is offered here.
Do something in time with other people, on a repeating schedule
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.In a controlled experiment, synchronized movement raised pain threshold and in-group bonding independently of exertion.
Graded recommendations elsewhere that mention Social prescribing
- Ask whether your health system has a social prescribing route, and use it if it doesEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Topic 45
The argument behind this term, its studies and its notes are in Reference topic 42 of the reference library. The book gives the practical version. Get the book.