ArticleBMC primary care2025
Social prescribing in primary care for people living with dementia: a qualitative exploration of different roles and services in England.
Article in BMC primary care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDementia is a global public health challenge with the number of people living with the condition rapidly rising. Social prescribing in primary care has emerged as a person-centred approach connecting individuals with community support. It is increasingly explored for its potential to support people with complex needs, yet its role in dementia care remains uncertain. This study aimed to explore current provision of social prescribing for people living with dementia across England, identifying relevant aspects for dementia care, with particular focus on generic and specialist services.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with regional leads of social prescribing services and social prescribing link workers (SPLWs) across England. Data were analysed using template analysis to identify key themes.
resultsTwenty-two participants were interviewed: ten social prescribing regional leads, four generic SPLWs commissioned to work with people aged > 18 years, and eight SPLWs working exclusively or partly with a specific adult population. Four themes were identified: family carer engagement key to supporting people living with dementia; service rather than person-centred care; the dominance of dementia in influencing support; and strategies for success: dementia centred social prescribing. Participants identified the central role of family carers in facilitating access to social prescribing, highlighting that carer support was often essential. Generic social prescribing frequently followed a 'service-led' approach, with service constraints negatively influencing interactions. Dementia was often perceived as the dominant support need, potentially marginalising individuals within broader social prescribing services. Despite these challenges, participants with more role flexibility, and/or more experience of dementia, demonstrated a range of successful strategies, illustrating the potential of social prescribing for people living with dementia.
conclusionSPLWs perceive that social prescribing has potential to play a key role in support for people living with dementia and family carers. While its core principles align well with dementia care, our findings suggest a social prescribing model more tailored to the needs of people living with dementia, or additional dementia-specific training for generic SPLWs, may prove more effective. Further research is needed to assess the impact of these approaches, especially for people living with dementia without access to family carers.
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.