5 Things You Should Know about Social Prescribing
While you might not be familiar with the term “social prescribing,” chances are that you as a caregiver or your loved one has benefited from it in the past.
It goes by other names, such as community referral or social referral, and essentially takes a holistic approach to meeting people’s health and wellness needs.
It Offers Broader Treatment Options
Through social prescribing, a wide range of individuals and professionals can give non-medical referrals to individuals and their caregivers to treat a variety of conditions. Professionals can include family doctors and other medical practitioners, as well as non-medical professionals in community organizations, social enterprises, or charities.
For instance, seniors’ community groups are a vital part of many elderly people’s lives. As such, their staff is well-positioned to notice or be informed of the difficulties their patrons are experiencing. They might recommend a professional or organization that can assist them. That is one form of social prescribing.
However, another benefit of social prescriptions is that you, as a caregiver, can also give one to your loved ones (or they can self-refer). You might notice that your care recipient is no longer able to do most of their daily tasks and you refer them to a professional caregiver company. Or, you might notice that they are battling loneliness and recommend a seniors group or day centre they can join.
The holistic essence of social prescribing means that anyone involved in the care and social needs of another person can take the initiative. It’s especially important in an age where more people are seeking alternative remedies and non-traditional solutions to aging.
It Has Huge Potential for Elder Care
Social prescribing is often touted for its ability to assist the most vulnerable groups of people in society. These can include people with:
- Low incomes
- Mild to moderate depression
- Chronic health conditions
- Frequent needs to visit primary or secondary care
- Physical mobility limitations
- Employment insecurity
- An inability to look after their daily needs
- Housing needs
- Nutritional deficiencies
Even a cursory glance at this list reveals that many seniors in Alberta and Canada share these risk factors and would benefit tremendously from social prescribing.
Let’s take chronic health conditions. Alberta Health Services reports that 30 percent of people in the province have at least one chronic health condition. However, that number surges to more than 75 percent for those aged 65 and older.
Now let’s consider the last risk factor. Senior malnutrition is rising rapidly in Canada. Its consequences include weight and muscle loss, poorer physical and cognitive ability, frequent medical visits and premature death.
In rural Alberta, for instance, 30 percent of people who use food banks are seniors or those with a disability, according to Food Banks Alberta’s HungerCount 2021.
Imagine if it became routine that when a health professional recognized malnutrition in a senior, they recommended a food bank or seniors food delivery service. They then gave the senior or their caregiver the name, address and email or phone number of these services and followed up on whether they contacted them at their next health visit.
It could be much more effective than giving a broad recommendation of “improve your diet” or handing them a diet sheet. It’s definitely food for thought.
It Can Improve Treatment and Social Outcomes
One of the best ways to think of social prescriptions is that they close the chasm between medical or clinical care and social care. By taking a holistic view of a patient’s life, you can quickly recognize that they are more than their symptoms or health conditions.
They have a wide variety of needs that cannot all be managed by medical practitioners. In fact, it’s frequently not an option, considering that many health professionals feel overburdened and many patients feel their needs are overlooked during notoriously time-constrained visits.
When health professionals can refer patients to community-based services there is a win-win scenario. Patients get more and well-rounded solutions to their healthcare and wellness needs. They feel more empowered to take charge of their health and lifestyle needs. A small body of research shows that social prescribing can improve health outcomes and reduce a sense of isolation.
For health professionals, social prescribing can lower the burden of managing too many patients and improve treatment outcomes. While more research is needed on the benefits of social prescriptions, one review found that they significantly reduced doctor’s and emergency room visits.
For other professionals — such as community workers, caregiving agencies, or other groups working with seniors — social prescribing can boost confidence and a sense of belonging.
The Healthy Aging Alberta Initiative
With a mandate to make Alberta “one of the best places in the world to grow old,” the Healthy Aging Alberta Initiative should definitely be on your radar as a caregiver.
The organization champions an organized and collaborative approach to healthy aging and elder care. As they point out, by working together, individuals or independent organizations can achieve only so much. But working together, they can be much more effective and impactful. To that end, they have created an essential resource to boost knowledge, awareness, advocacy and cooperation.
Their Collaborative Online Resources and Education (CORE) platform is a free, member-based hub dedicated to connecting community-based senior serving (CBSS) organizations. It’s an essential part of their strategy to help individuals and organizations improve the health and well-being of older Albertans.
Learn more about how they can assist you with your social prescribing goals and practices.
It’s Already Part of Some Countries’ Health Systems
While there has long been informal social prescribing, some countries — the U.K., Ireland, Portugal and Netherlands — are making it part of their health systems.
In 2019, it was included in the NHS Long Term Plan, a document published by NHS England that outlined the priorities and healthcare for the next decade.
In August this year, the U.K. government announced the equivalent of $19.2 million CDN to be dedicated to several social prescription pilots that would, among other things, allow doctors to prescribe walking and cycling.
Their aim is to benefit mental and physical health — including lowering the risk of chronic illnesses such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Also, reducing the burden on their national health system is a key goal.
According to their Health Minister Maria Caulfield, the NHS has already exceeded its goal of ensuring 900,000 people are referred to social prescribing programs.
SOURCES
LocalGov: Councils to share nearly £13m to test ‘social prescribing’
The Health Foundation: Social prescribing: integrating GP and community health assets
