Journal Article (Australian)
Published: August 2024
Brief Summary:
Hayes S, Sharman L, McNamara N, Dingle G. Link Workers’ and Clients’ Perspectives on How Social Prescribing Offers a Social Cure for Loneliness. J Health Psychol. 2024; doi:10.1177/13591053241274090
The present study adopted the Social Cure framework to provide an understanding of the psychosocial processes involved in helping participants to engage with social activities, from both the link workers’ and clients’ perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 link workers (Mage = 40.12; 87% female) and 15 clients (Mage = 55.33; 73% female, 7% non-binary) of social prescribing programmes across Australia and the transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results/Outcomes:
Three overarching themes were identified: (1) Breaking Down Barriers, (2) Finding Fit with Others, and (3) Rebuilding a Sense of Self. These findings communicate how social prescribing addressed the psychosocial barriers of clients, and how joining groups that fostered positive shared social identities resulted in meaningful improvements to clients’ well-being.