Social Prescribing as ‘Social Cure’: A longitudinal study of the health benefits of social connectedness within a Social Prescribing pathway

Juliet Ruth Helen Wakefield*, Blerina Këllezi, Clifford Stevenson, Niamh McNamara, Mhairi Bowe, Iain Wilson, Moon Halder, Elizabeth Mair

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)
6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We examined whether the Social Cure (SC) perspective explains the efficacy of a Social Prescribing (SP) pathway which addresses healthcare needs through enhancing social connections. Data were collected at pathway entry from patients with long-term health conditions, or who felt isolated/lonely/anxious (N = 630), then again 4 months later (N = 178), and 6-9 months later (N = 63). Being on the pathway was associated with increased group memberships between T0 and T1. The relationship between increased group memberships and quality-of-life was serially mediated by belonging, support and loneliness. This study is the first to show SP enhances health/well-being via SC mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)386-396
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Health Psychology
Volume27
Issue number2
Early online date23 Jul 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2022

Keywords

  • loneliness
  • social cure
  • social prescribing
  • social support
  • wellbeing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology

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