TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Social prescribing for individuals living with mental illness in an Australian community setting: a pilot study
JO  - Community mental health journal
A1  - Aggar, Christina
A1  - Thomas, Tamsin
A1  - Gordon, Christopher
A1  - Bloomfield, Jacqueline
A1  - Baker, James
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Social prescribing, also known as "community referral", is a means of referring individuals living in the community to existing local non-clinical health, welfare, and social support services. International evidence demonstrates that social prescribing improves biopsychosocial quality of life, and burden on health services. Australia's first social prescribing pilot program for individuals with mental illness (mood and psychotic spectrum disorders) was implemented in Sydney in 2016/2017; this study evaluates that program. Participants included 13 adults who were assessed at baseline and six-month follow-up. Outcomes included self-perceived quality of life, welfare needs, health status, loneliness, social participation, and economic participation. <br><br>RESULTS indicate significant improvements in quality of life and health status. This pilot program demonstrates that social prescribing may improve participant outcomes. It fits well within Australian health policy and funding models which focus on bolstering community care, and may be scalable, particularly in geographically isolated communities.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0010-3853
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00631-6
ID  - ref1
ER  -