A scoping review of physical activity-based social prescribing in UK primary care
Our scoping review will explore existing research on physical activity-based interventions, aiming to understand their alignment with social prescribing pathways in UK primary care.
We will systematically categorise the literature, specifically focussing on the roles of link workers and health coaches. Our objective is to identify knowledge gaps and areas of uncertainty, provide valuable insights into how to optimise social prescribing pathways, inform future practice and policy, and enhance patient well being through physical activity.
Part of our Changing behaviours for better health and preventing disease research theme.
This research seeks to address gaps in our understanding of physical activity social prescribing in UK primary care, a crucial area with a growing but incomplete evidence base. Unlike other social prescribing activities, physical activity-based prescriptions lack comprehensive reviews, particularly regarding their alignment with social prescribing pathways.
Preliminary searches indicate a scarcity of in-depth studies, underscoring the need for a detailed review. Existing evidence reviews have limitations in depth, potential bias, and comprehensiveness. A significant gap is the absence of an explicit mapping of the current evidence to primary care social prescribing pathways, which leaves uncertainties in the field unaddressed.
This research aims to systematically analyse existing evidence, fostering evidence-informed dialogues, laying a foundation for practice and policy, and identifying future research areas. The ultimate goal is to optimise physical activity-based social prescribing, ensuring impactful patient outcomes and addressing existing uncertainties.
The scoping review will use an internationally recognised methodology to map the current themes in the literature.
We will search a range of biomedical and health electronic literature databases for both published and unpublished research on physical-activity based prescribing, including ASSIA, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science with no date restrictions. Additionally, we will explore grey literature and check reference lists of related included research. While there won't be language barriers during the screening, for data extraction, we will focus on studies in languages our team understands. Three reviewers will independently handle the screening and data extraction. We will use descriptive analysis and tabulate the results for each sub question.
A narrative summary will accompany the findings. We will employ a multifaceted dissemination strategy presentations at specialised conferences, academic publications, online and social media engagement, and knowledge exchange workshops.
How we are involving patients and the public
PPI will be embedded in all stages of the project including protocol development, dissemination and evaluation.
We will seek PPI input on the protocol of our review, aiming for at least two PPI contributors and will seek them from a diverse range of backgrounds via community settings (religious organisations, community groups, schools, etc.). In this way PPI contributors can provide support for each other in communicating with researchers and in doing the agreed tasks.
We will implement a community dissemination strategy that is developed with our PPI contributors. This might include attending community events to discuss their research and creative approaches that can be hosted online.
How we are planning to implement the research outputs
This project, part of the Oxford Social Prescribing Research Network, aims to transform everyday practice through collaborative research and engagement with public, clinical providers, policymakers, and researchers. We seek to understand the nuances of social prescribing, its impact on health and wellbeing, and identify optimal service delivery methods.
We are committed to co-production with essential stakeholders, including healthcare services, social care entities, commissioners, patient groups, and voluntary sector organisations. Our broader implementation strategy spans local, regional, and national levels, supported by tailored tools and business cases. Post-implementation evaluations will demonstrate the sustained impact of our interventions.
Our dissemination strategy encompasses presentations at conferences, academic publications, online engagement, and workshops with key stakeholders, ensuring broad accessibility and applicability of our research findings towards optimising social prescribing practices.
Project Lead
Project end date
June 2024
Aims
The scoping review aims to address the following research questions:
- What types of evidence exists for physical activity-based prescribing in UK primary care settings?
- How does the evidence map to the existing social prescribing pathway in UK primary care?
- What uncertainties does the evidence address?
- How well have uncertainties been addressed and what uncertainties remain?
Deliverables
Concrete Outputs:
- Research Landscape Mapping: A comprehensive compilation of interventions in physical activity-based social prescribing;
- Foundational Resource: This mapping will underpin subsequent reviews, synthesising available evidence;
- Actionable Insights: Providing clear recommendations for practitioners and policymakers.
Steps to Realise Impact:
- Engagement with Stakeholders: Sharing findings through conferences, publications, and online platforms;
- Knowledge Exchange Workshops: Conducting interactive sessions with key stakeholders;
- Engagement with Decision-Makers: Presenting findings to parliamentary groups and local health decision-makers;
- Development of Implementation Tools: Creating practical tools based on our research for real-world application;
Expected Impact
Individual Patients and Populations:
On a personal level, the project aims to improve the health and wellbeing of patients engaged in social prescribing, potentially impacting thousands. By enhancing understanding of physical activity-based interventions and their delivery, we expect better patient outcomes and improved quality of life.
Health and Social Care System:
Systemically, the project has the potential to inform policy and practice, leading to more efficient social prescribing pathways around physical activity. This could result in cost savings for the NHS and social care services, as optimized social prescribing reduces reliance on more traditional forms of healthcare.
Other Relevant Groups:
The project is also likely to benefit clinical providers, policymakers, and voluntary sector organisations by providing insights and practical tools for effective social prescribing practices around physical activity.
In terms of timescale, initial impacts could be observed within the first year after completion, with more substantial changes unfolding over several years. The project aims to contribute to a shift in understanding and implementation of physical activity-based social prescribing across the UK.