What’s New in Psychology

Social Prescriptions Can Help Reduce Loneliness and Social Isolation     

Jim Windell

            In one study, 43% of Americans over age 60 reported feeling lonely and 18% reported feeling socially isolated at least some of the time. Loneliness and social isolation are bad enough, but both can have adverse health effects.

           For instance, loneliness is associated with cardiovascular disease, functional decline, worse sleep and health behaviors, and increased risk of death. Similarly, social isolation is associated with coronary heart disease, cognitive impairment, functional decline, and poorly controlled diabetes. 

           However, loneliness and social isolation as well as anxiety, depression, chronic pain or long-term health conditions, and also cancer and dementia are some of the pathologies that could benefit from one highly touted approach to social isolation and loneliness.

           That approach is Social Prescribing, which involves the “prescription” of activities such as participation in support groups, artistic activities, volunteering, gardening, sports, yoga and training programs, by healthcare professionals. Social Prescribing has gained such momentum that the Social Prescribing World Day is officially celebrated on March 19^th throughout the world. Initially promoted by the British National Academy for Social Prescribing in 2019, it is being embraced by more and more countries around the world.

            This year was the first in which Italy joined this international celebration in a world seemingly dominated by chronic diseases and an increasingly elderly and lonely population. For the Italian commemoration, the Faculty of Economics of the Catholic University of the Rome campus has partnered at the international level with the WHO's European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and at the national level with the CNAPPS working group of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, directed by Professor Giovanni Capelli, who is also a professor at the Catholic University of Rome.

            Professor Antonio Giulio de Belvis, Associate in General and Applied Hygiene at the Faculty of Economics of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, explains: “Social Prescribing is a preventive and therapeutic approach. It starts from the doctor's prescription, then the network of voluntary communities, associations, local authorities or charities guarantees socializing and evidence-based interventions, to supplement and benefit traditional therapies.

             “These activities of psycho-motor or playful-artistic involvement in group, cultural or recreational initiatives (exercise, music, dance, theatre, painting) have proved beneficial for health and psycho-physical well-being. These are public health interventions that link the health sphere with the social one, the personal dimension with the relational one, and that are already part of care in some European health systems, but not yet in Italy, where a formalized, widespread and capillary implementation is needed, according to the promoters.”  

            Several published studies have shown that Social Prescribing can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, especially in people with mild to moderate mental health disorders. A study published in the British Medical Journal (Drinkwater et al., 2019) highlighted all the positive effects of Social Prescribing, which, for example, can significantly reduce loneliness, a major risk factor for various illnesses. Other studies have shown that social prescribing is associated with a reduction in doctor visits and hospital admissions. 

            Social prescribing is a systematic approach to addressing patients’ social needs by referring them to or implementing community-based interventions and facilitating social connection based on individual need. One goal of social prescribing is to address the social determinants of an individual patient’s loneliness, given their available resources. Social prescribing can be initiated by any member of the patient’s care team and need not be done exclusively by physicians. Ultimately, social prescribing is most successful when clinicians consider a patient’s individual needs and incorporate them in shared decision making with that patient about a prescription’s costs and benefits.

           For example, an individualized approach to a social prescription for a new immigrant might incorporate interventions that account for language barriers and cultural needs specific to forging social connection within their particular community. Alternatively, an older adult with limited mobility might need home-based virtual activities (popularized during the pandemic) and telephone-based companionship programs, in addition to needing a clinician who could help identify opportunities to improve mobility. In both examples, clinicians’ awareness of local community programs and resources available to each patient, as well as local demographics, is key to successful social prescribing.

           In an article published by Policy@Manchester, Ruth Farrimond-Goff and Professor Caroline Bond highlight recent data from the World Health Organization, which suggests that one in seven people globally aged 10-19 years experience a diagnosable mental health condition. But they point out that while social prescribing can support adults to address social and emotional needs, it is not yet commonly deployed for children and young people in the UK.

           In their article, the University of Manchester researchers note that, in its Break Down Barriers to Opportunity mission, the government has identified poor mental health as a barrier to learning.

           “They have pledged to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support ‘to address problems before they escalate,’” Farrimond-Goff and Bond write. “We recommend that social prescribing that link workers be integrated into this strategy and are a key part of the workforce of school mental health professionals.”

           The academics also advise that social prescribing has been identified in the NHS Long Term Plan as becoming a universal service covering all age groups, thus implying that this mainly adult-focused intervention would be available to those under the age of 18.

           According to Social Prescribing USA, improving social conditions remains critical to improving health outcomes, and integrating social care into health care delivery is more relevant than ever in the context of the pandemic and increased strains placed on the U.S. health care system. 

           To read more about Social Prescribing, find other articles with these references:

https: //www.newswise.com/articles/social-prescribing-a-new-way-of-promoting-psycho-physical-well-being-and-healing-through-social-contacts

White, B. (2025). Social prescriptions can help young people through mental health challenges – new research. Available at: Wakefield Express: /www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/social-prescriptions-can-help-young-people-through-mental-health-challenges-new-research/ar-AA1BxxGA?ocid=BingNewsSerp