Social prescribing and community-based support enables GPs, other health and care practitioners and local agencies to refer people to a link worker who gives people time and focuses on what matters to the individual. For some people this will be green social prescribing, which links them to nature-based interventions and activities, such as local walking for health schemes, community gardening and food-growing projects.
South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System
Joined Up Care Derbyshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership
Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership
Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership
The evaluation was funded for a total of £887,413 from HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund, a fund to pilot innovative ways of working to improve collaboration on priority policy areas that sit across, and are delivered by, multiple public sector organisations to improve outcomes and deliver better value for citizens.
The evaluation contract was awarded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and supported by Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Natural England, NHS England, Public Health England, Sport England, the National Academy of Social Prescribing (NASP), and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
From 2021 to 2023, the research consortium carried out an in-depth evaluation across seven test and learn sites targeting communities in England hardest hit by COVID-19. As part of this work, we helped these sites understand how, and in what ways, their activities can successfully connect people with nature to improve mental health and wellbeing.
The team also took a “lighter touch” approach to evaluating green social prescribing in other areas, improving understanding of how green social prescribing could be scaled up and embedded into practice effectively. The team was led by Dr Annette Haywood, based within the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. Colleagues within the Health Sciences School and Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield are also involved in the delivery of the evaluation.
Professor Ruth Garside led the University of Exeter team (linked to the University of Plymouth through PenARC; https://arc-swp.nihr.ac.uk/), drawn from staff within the European Centre, World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Natural Environments and Health. Professor Chris Dayson led the team at Sheffield Hallam University, drawn from staff within The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) and the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC).