Social prescribing — the practice of healthcare professionals referring patients to non-medical community activities and support — is one of the most significant emerging approaches to population health in the English-speaking world. In New Zealand and Australia, social prescribing is growing as health systems grapple with the social determinants of health and the limits of clinical intervention for conditions rooted in loneliness, inactivity, anxiety, and social disconnection. Funders supporting social prescribing need to understand both the evidence base and the infrastructure requirements for effective programmes.
Social prescribing connects people — typically through a GP referral or self-referral — with community activities, support groups, arts programmes, exercise classes, volunteering opportunities, and practical support services. The connecting function is typically performed by a "link worker" or "community connector" who works between the health system and community organisations.
A GP seeing a patient with depression might refer them to:
- A community gardening project
- A walking group
- A men's shed
- A creative arts programme
- A befriending service
- A social enterprise employment programme
The theory of change is well-evidenced: social isolation, purposelessness, and disconnection from community contribute directly to poor mental and physical health outcomes. Social prescribing addresses these causes rather than treating symptoms.
Social prescribing operates at the intersection of health and community — which means it often falls into funding gaps between health budgets (which pay for clinical services) and community funding (which funds community organisations).
Link worker roles — the professionals who conduct needs assessments, build relationships with patients, and connect them with community organisations — are typically not funded through standard health budgets. These roles are often funded through grants from PHOs (Primary Health Organisations), health funders, or philanthropic foundations.
Community organisations receiving referrals need capacity to absorb referrals. A gardening project that receives ten GP referrals needs a supported volunteer coordinator, accessible facilities, and an appropriate induction process. Grants that fund social prescribing often need to fund both the link worker function and the community organisation capacity to receive referrals.
Infrastructure and coordination — connecting health providers with community organisations, managing referral pathways, and collecting outcome data — require investment that doesn't sit naturally within either health or community budgets.
Social prescribing is being actively developed in New Zealand through:
Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) social and community health initiatives, including funded programmes in several district health regions.
Primary Health Organisations that are investing in link worker roles as part of population health strategies.
Community trusts and gaming trusts that fund the community organisations receiving social prescribing referrals — exercise programmes, arts groups, social clubs, men's sheds, and befriending services.
Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has funded social prescribing elements as part of injury rehabilitation, recognising that social reconnection accelerates recovery.
Mental health foundations including the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand support community-based approaches to wellbeing that overlap with social prescribing.
In Australia, social prescribing pilots are operating in multiple Primary Health Networks (PHNs), with early evidence of reduced GP presentations and improved patient self-reported wellbeing.
Grant funding in social prescribing covers several distinct functions:
Link worker roles:
- Salary and training for link workers or community connectors
- Supervision and professional development
- Case management systems for referral tracking
- Relationship building with community organisations
Community organisation capacity:
- Volunteer coordinator capacity to receive and support referrals
- Accessibility modifications (ramps, hearing loops, adapted facilities)
- Social prescribing-appropriate activity development
- Training for volunteer leaders on supporting referred participants
Programme infrastructure:
- Referral management systems connecting health providers to community organisations
- Outcome measurement tools (PHQ-9, Warwick-Edinburgh, wellbeing scales)
- Community asset mapping — cataloguing available community activities for referral
- Coordination roles connecting the health system and community sector
Evaluation and learning:
- Wellbeing outcome data collection
- Economic modelling of GP presentation reduction
- Programme improvement and documentation
Fund the link worker function. The most critical investment in social prescribing is the link worker or community connector role. This person is the bridge between the health system and the community. Under-investing in this role produces referrals that go nowhere.
Fund both sides of the referral pathway. A grant that funds only the link worker, without also funding community organisation capacity to receive referrals, creates a bottleneck. Social prescribing grants should consider funding both sides.
Allow time for trust building. Effective social prescribing requires trust between GPs and link workers, link workers and community organisations, and link workers and patients. This takes time to build. Short-term grants undermine this trust-building.
Recognise the evidence base. Social prescribing has a growing evidence base from the UK (where social prescribing is embedded in NHS practice) and international pilots. Funders should be familiar with this evidence and apply it to grant assessment.
Support measurement without over-burdening. Good social prescribing programmes collect outcome data — wellbeing scores at referral and follow-up, GP presentation rates, patient self-reported connection. But measurement burden should be proportionate; community organisations should not be asked to maintain clinical records.
Referrals completed: Number of patients referred, by source (GP, self-referral, other health professional), and by activity type.
Wellbeing outcomes: Pre- and post-referral wellbeing scores (PHQ-9 for depression/anxiety, or validated wellbeing scales). Not all patients will complete follow-up assessments; transparent reporting on response rates matters.
Connection outcomes: Sustained participation in community activities beyond initial referral. Are people still attending the gardening project six months later?
GP impact: Reduction in GP presentations from referred patients (where data is available and appropriately de-identified).
Community organisation impact: Changes in capacity, referral-readiness, and volunteer engagement in receiving organisations.
Tahua supports health and community funders working in social prescribing, with grant management tools designed for programmes that span the health-community boundary and require multi-stakeholder outcome reporting.