Occupational therapy students’ and educators’ perspectives and understanding of the role of occupational therapy within social prescribing: A qualitative interview study

Abstract

Introduction:Social prescribing is building traction internationally and within the United Kingdom healthcare system, highlighted as the biggest investment in the National Health Service. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists has highlighted the contribution that occupational therapy can make to social prescribing. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Degree Apprenticeship Occupational Therapy students’ and educators’ perspectives and understanding of occupational therapists’ role within social prescribing.Method:Qualitative one-to-one, in depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with occupational therapy students ( n = 5) and educators ( n = 4). Data were subject to framework analysis.Results:Three main themes were constructed: Knowledge of social prescribing and occupational therapy involvement, social prescribing context and education provided on social prescribing. Students had a basic knowledge of social prescribing, but there was no shared definition of social prescribing between students or educators. Students were unsure of the occupational therapist’s role within social prescribing, as they had not been exposed to this area during their practice placements.Conclusion:Universal use of the international consensus definition of social prescribing is needed to ensure consistent teaching of the approach. Including social prescribing within practice placements for occupational therapy students would aid understanding of the approach.