People with severe mental illnesses (SMI) including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and psychosis are at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Reasons for this include challenges in undertaking physical activity, social isolation and lack of social networks, higher levels of stress and lack of access to appropriate physical health care.
Social prescribing aims to improve both physical and mental health. It involves a link worker who is someone who receives patient referrals (usually from a GP) who then refers patients to community activities such as art, community gardening, volunteering, and befriending, sports and leisure. Research suggests that social prescribing can improve the health and wellbeing of adults experiencing loneliness and those with mild or moderate mental health problems. However, less is known about whether people with SMI are given opportunities to access social prescribing and whether it improves their physical or mental health. Dr Burton will therefore seek to answer the following questions:
Dr Burton and her team will analyse data within a large primary care database called the Clinical Practice Research Database (CPRD). This contains patient medical histories and social prescribing referrals.
The project will also include qualitative interviews with people who have SMI’s and are at risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as interviews with family carers, and social prescribing staff (e.g. link workers, GPs and community service providers).
These participants will be asked what might help people with SMI access social prescribing and how social prescribing can be adapted to ensure it is accessible. This will inform a co-designed pilot study with around 50 people, to see if the adaptations can increase access to social prescribing and improve physical health and wellbeing.
By understanding the barriers that stop people with serious mental illnesses from accessing and engaging with social prescribing these difficulties can be addressed.
Making social prescribing more accessible to people with SMI can help people with SMI live happier, healthier lives.
Dr Alexandra Burton is a Senior Research Fellow in Behavioural and Social Sciences in the the Social Biobehavioural Research Group, Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London. Her research explores the ingredients and mechanisms of social, cultural and community programmes to understand how and why they impact our mental and physical health as well as barriers and enablers to engagement. She is particularly interested in research that improves social support and tackles loneliness and social isolation in people living with mental health problems.
This project is co-funded by the Rosetrees Trust and the Stephen Palmer Fellowship fund.
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