The effectiveness of social prescribing in the management of long-term conditions in community-based adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of social prescribing interventions in the management of long-term conditions in adults.

Data sources: Eleven electronic databases were searched for randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials.

Review methods: Outcomes of interest were quality of life, physical activity, psychological well-being and disease-specific measures. Bias was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. A narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were performed.

Results: Twelve studies (n = 3566) were included in this review. Social prescribing interventions were heterogeneous and the most common risks of bias were poor blinding and high attrition. Social prescribing interventions designed to target specific long-term conditions i.e., cancer and diabetes demonstrated significant improvements in quality of life (n = 2 studies) and disease-specific psychological outcomes respectively (n = 3 studies). There was some evidence for improvement in physical activity (n = 2 studies) but most changes were within group only (n = 4 studies). Social prescribing interventions did not demonstrate any significant changes in general psychological well-being.

Conclusion: Social prescribing interventions demonstrated some improvements across a range of outcomes although the quality of evidence remains poor.