‘First ever’ glossary to help nurses understand social prescribing terms
First-of-its-kind guidance has been published to help practice nurses and other health and social care professionals to understand the “diverse and confusing” language used in social prescribing.
The 54-page glossary, which is intended to both “clarify and standardise” social prescribing, has been jointly developed by the University of South Wales (USW) and Public Health Wales.
“Unfortunately, the terminology that is used in social prescribing is diverse and confusing”
Simon Newstead
A leading think tank has described social prescribing, also sometimes called community referral, as a way of enabling health professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.
The referrals generally, but not exclusively, come from professionals working in primary care settings, for example, GPs or practice nurses, noted the King’s Fund in a report on social prescribing.
Meanwhile, USW itself has defined social prescribing as an approach to healthcare that emphasised “community connections and empowerment” but acknowledged there was some confusion about it.
Dr Simon Newstead, senior research assistant at the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research, based at USW, said: “Social prescribing uses a person-centred approach to connect individuals to their communities, with the aim of helping them to better manage their health and wellbeing.”
But he said: “Unfortunately, the terminology that is used in social prescribing is diverse and confusing, with multiple terms used to describe the same specific aspects of social prescribing.
“To the best of our knowledge, this evidence-based glossary of terms is a world-first for social prescribing,” he noted.
The glossary, aimed at health professionals, has been designed for use in Wales alongside a National framework for social prescribing, which was launched by the Welsh Government in January this year.
As well as a methodology about the glossary, it features descriptions of a range of terms linked to social prescribing, including ‘buddy system’, ‘care navigator’, ‘green referrals’ and ‘social cafes’.
USW said it hoped the glossary would be a “valuable resource for practitioners, commissioners, and those whose professional roles brought them into contact with social prescribing”.
Dr Newstead added: “At the heart of social prescribing is the concept of a ‘what matters’ conversation’ which helps individuals to identify, not only the challenges that they face but also what is important to them personally.
“Through these conversations, social prescribing practitioners, also known as link workers or community connectors, can co-produce an action plan with the individual before connecting them to relevant services or groups within their communities.
“By empowering individuals to engage with their communities, social prescribing not only strengthens the wellbeing of individuals but also fosters community resilience,” he said.
Dr Newstead also highlighted that, to make social prescribing more accessible and usable, an easy-read version of the glossary and website with both versions on it has been created, which includes animations, interactive mind-maps and bilingual functionality.
