SynthesisPerspectives in public health2021
Understanding loneliness: a systematic review of the impact of social prescribing initiatives on loneliness.
Synthesis in Perspectives in public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Longitudinal Evidence on Social Ties and Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Aging Adults: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 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
- Social prescribing for suicide prevention: a rapid review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Experiences of Loneliness Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2023Pooled it
- Critical components of social prescribing programmes with a focus on older adults - a systematic review.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Pooled it
- Social prescribing outcomes: a mapping review of the evidence from 13 countries to identify key common outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 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
- Systematic review of social prescribing and older adults: where to from here?Family medicine and community health · 2022Pooled 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
- Trial
- Caring for the lonely: an ethical case for social prescribing against loneliness.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2026Article
- Food insecurity, social isolation, and intrinsic capacity: An age-stratified analysis of US adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Navigating the national rollout: examining Primary Care Network link workers and the integration of local social prescribing models in Redbridge.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- Occupational Therapists as Social Prescribers: Insights from Swedish Primary Care.Scandinavian journal of occupational therapy · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic, lifestyle, work- and health-related correlates of mental health outcomes: a large-scale cross-sectional web-based study of 1.19 million adult internet users in Poland (2020-2024).BMC public health · 2026Article
- Loneliness and Mental Wellbeing in People With Inherited Macular Disease.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- Loneliness in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Multidimensional Determinant of Clinical Outcomes and Disease Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Reducing loneliness and promoting mental well-being among migrants and asylum seekers through social mentoring in Spain: insights from a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsThe aim of this systematic literature review is to assess the impact of social prescribing (SP) programmes on loneliness among participants and the population.
methodsWe followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to search EBSCOHost (CINAHL Complete, eBook Collection, E-Journals, MEDLINE with Full Text, Open Dissertations, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO), UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Web of Science Core Collection, and grey literature. We included studies measuring the effectiveness and impact of SP programmes in terms of loneliness. We excluded systematic reviews and studies without evaluations. Due to the absence of confidence intervals and the low number of studies, we conduct no meta-analysis.
resultsFrom 4415 unique citations, nine articles met the inclusion criteria. The studies do not use uniform measures or randomised samples. All nine studies report positive individual impacts; three report reductions in general practitioner (GP), A&E, social worker, or inpatient/outpatient services; and one shows that belonging to a group reduces loneliness and healthcare usage.
conclusionThe findings of this systematic review indicate that individuals and service providers view SP as a helpful tool to address loneliness. However, evidence variability and the small number of studies make it difficult to draw a conclusion on the extent of the impact and the pathways to achieving positive change. More research is needed into the impact of SP programmes on participants, populations, and communities in terms of loneliness, isolation, and connectedness, especially in light of the surge in SP activity as a key part of pandemic response.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.