Evidence base
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Can Social Prescribing Foster Individual and Community Well-Being? A Systematic Review of the Evidence
What it found
This systematic review examines the evidence base for social prescribing's effects on individual and community well-being. It finds that increases in self-esteem and self-confidence are consistently reported as outcomes, but that the underlying trial evidence is limited and programmes vary widely in design.
Why it matters for practice
For anyone commissioning or building a social prescribing service, this is a reminder that the well-being case rests more on plausibility and consistent self-report gains than on robust comparative trials. Treat the heterogeneity finding as a flag: outcomes from one programme model may not transfer cleanly to another.