Evidence base
Perspectives in Public Health
Understanding Loneliness: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Social Prescribing Initiatives on Loneliness
What it found
This systematic review examined nine studies of social prescribing initiatives and their effect on loneliness. All nine reported positive individual impacts on participants, and three of the nine also reported reductions in use of GP, emergency, social worker, or inpatient services.
Why it matters for practice
The consistency of positive individual outcomes across a small evidence base is encouraging, but the service-use reduction finding rests on only three studies, so it should not be treated as a reliable basis for cost or demand-reduction claims when commissioning social prescribing schemes.