ArticleBMJ open2019
The social cure of social prescribing: a mixed-methods study on the benefits of social connectedness on quality and effectiveness of care provision.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What works to reduce loneliness: a rapid systematic review of 101 interventions.Journal of public health policy · 2025Pooled it
- Outcomes and instruments used in social prescribing: a modified umbrella review.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2024Pooled it
- Critical components of social prescribing programmes with a focus on older adults - a systematic review.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Pooled it
- Community interventions for anxiety and depression in adults and young people: A systematic review.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of system navigation programs linking primary care with community-based health and social services: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Service user perspectives on social prescribing services for mental health in the UK: a systematic review.Perspectives in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Social prescribing outcomes: a mapping review of the evidence from 13 countries to identify key common outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Positive impact of social relationships fostered by physical and/or cognitive group activity on older people's quality of life: PRISMA systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Do people perceive benefits in the use of social prescribing to address loneliness and/or social isolation? A qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature.BMC health services research · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness and active ingredients of social prescribing interventions targeting mental health: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Quality Social Connection as an Active Ingredient in Digital Interventions for Young People With Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Scoping Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Understanding loneliness: a systematic review of the impact of social prescribing initiatives on loneliness.Perspectives in public health · 2021Pooled it
- Can Social Prescribing Foster Individual and Community Well-Being? A Systematic Review of the Evidence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Harms and Negative or Unintended Consequences of Social Prescribing: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- When Do We Recover from Loneliness: The Role of Green Consumption and Social Value.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pharmacist perceptions on the presentation of social isolation and loneliness (SIL) in community pharmacy settings in Ireland - A mixed methods study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2026Article
- A retrospective observational study of characteristics and outcomes of older patients referred to a hospital-based social prescribing programme.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Suicide prevention in primary health care among socially vulnerable populations: a narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis study aimed to assess the degree to which the 'social cure' model of psychosocial health captures the understandings and experiences of healthcare staff and patients in a social prescribing (SP) pathway and the degree to which these psychosocial processes predict the effect of the pathway on healthcare usage.
designMixed-methods: Study 1: semistructured interviews; study 2: longitudinal survey.
settingAn English SP pathway delivered between 2017 and 2019.
participantsStudy 1: general practitioners (GPs) (n=7), healthcare providers (n=9) and service users (n=19). Study 2: 630 patients engaging with SP pathway at a 4-month follow-up after initial referral assessment.
interventionChronically ill patients experiencing loneliness referred onto SP pathway and meeting with a health coach and/or link worker, with possible further referral to existing or newly created relevant third-sector groups.
main outcome measureStudy 1: health providers and users' qualitative perspectives on the experience of the pathway and social determinants of health. Study 2: patients' primary care usage.
resultsHealthcare providers recognised the importance of social factors in determining patient well-being, and reason for presentation at primary care. They viewed SP as a potentially effective solution to such problems. Patients valued the different social relationships they created through the SP pathway, including those with link workers, groups and community. Group memberships quantitatively predicted primary care usage, and this was mediated by increases in community belonging and reduced loneliness.
conclusionsMethodological triangulation offers robust conclusions that 'social cure' processes explain the efficacy of SP, which can reduce primary care usage through increasing social connectedness (group membership and community belonging) and reducing loneliness. Recommendations for integrating social cure processes into SP initiatives are discussed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.