Blog Article
Health inequalities remain a growing public health challenge in the UK and globally. Social prescribing, introduced into the NHS through the deployment of social prescribing link workers (also known as social prescribers) in General Practices across England in 2019, aims to address health inequalities. However, the complexity of health inequalities cannot be tackled by the NHS alone.
Furthermore, various models of social prescribing exist beyond the NHS framework, each with differing interpretations and approaches to implementation. This variation has significant implications for research, health policy, and strategy. There is a critical need to contextualise the role of social prescribing link workers within the NHS general practice model to better understand their impact on health inequalities and how best to utilise this resource. This insight can help shape NHS and public health policies and practices, ensuring the optimal use of resources.
This study at Birmingham City University aims to explore how social prescribing link workers contribute to addressing health inequalities and the barriers and facilitators they encounter within an NHS-funded general practice context. This will be investigated through qualitative interviews to gather insights into their experiences and perspectives.
Project Team
- Christiana Melam
- Judith Dyson
- Kate Thomson
Project Impacts
The findings will support the development of a practical framework for utilising social prescribing link workers to reduce health inequalities in general practice settings. This framework will guide both practice and policy, contributing to reducing healthcare inequalities, enhancing the effectiveness of NHS services, and improving public health outcomes.
Contact
For more information on the research contact Christiana.melam@mail.bcu.ac.uk