Social prescribing from the patient's perspective: A literature review

Social prescribing (SP) has aroused widespread interest across countries. SP is a way of linking patients in primary care with sources of support within the community by empowering patients to coproduce solutions to improve their health and well‐being. While previous research has demonstrated that SP contributes to reducing the total cost of the National Health Service, the analysis of its effects on patients is still inadequate. This literature review critically evaluated SP from the patient's perspective through the lens of medical anthropology. The review was made with respect to the three key concepts: treatment evaluation, coproduction, and empowerment. The study revealed that SP services in the UK enabled patients to feel comfort in many cases, but general practitioners, link workers, and patients should be collaborative with each other, and their interrelationships should not be hierarchical. Nevertheless, certain modifications may be needed to introduce SP in other healthcare systems. This article, based on a literature review, is the first evaluation of social prescribing from the patient's perspective through the lens of medical anthropology. The review revealed that social prescribing services in the UK enabled patients to feel comfort in many cases, but general practitioners, link workers and patients should be collaborative with each other, and their interrelationships should not be hierarchical.