ARC Linkage Grant ‘Social prescribing: linking Australian social, health and community sectors’

What is social prescribing and why does it matter?

The rising cost of living and other social challenges are making life harder for many Australians. Support programs are scattered and poorly connected, making it tough for people to find and access the services they need. As a result, more and more people are turning to health professionals for help with social issues, but these professionals aren’t equipped to handle this, which results in stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.

To improve this situation, social prescribing – a service model that links people to relevant social and community care services – aims to understand the unique circumstances and complexities of people’s lives and the inequalities they may face. Such a model can then provide a pathway from healthcare to social, and community supports through warm referrals to relevant services – ultimately addressing the underlying issues poor social and economic wellbeing for some people and communities.

What are CSI Flinders researchers doing in this space?

Flinders researchers from the Centre for Social Impact and Caring Futures Institute ( Prof Svetlana Bogomolova , Dr Candice Oster , Dr Ashleigh Powell, Dr Claire Hutchinson , Dr Sahar Faghidno ) who, in collaboration with six Partners (Department of Human Services, Anglicare SA, Adelaide Primary Health Network, City of Onkaparinga, Corporation of the City of Marion, Semantic consulting), recently won an ARC Linkage grant to co-design a social prescribing model for South Australia.

“We are delighted to team up with six partners, including at federal, state and local governments, to co-design, implement and evaluate a better way to connect Australians experiencing vulnerabilities to essential social and community services. The project tackles silos and high fragmentation in health and social sectors, by co-designing referral systems that work in coordination,” says Professor Bogomolova.

“The project is an important step in the advancement of social prescribing in Australia”, says Dr Oster, “leveraging technology to facilitate cross-sector collaboration to address social determinants of health.”

This research project is providing an unprecedented opportunity for the research team to co-design, implement and evaluate a novel evidence-based social prescribing model for Australia – a crucial referral pathway spanning the social, health and community sectors to tackle growing unmet social needs of those experiencing vulnerability.

Expected outcomes are a new social prescribing model and referral tools fit for the Australian context, to enable more efficient, effective and connected social, health and community services. Key benefits are enhanced support and wellbeing for the significant numbers of Australians experiencing disadvantage.

Please contact csiflinders@flinders.edu.au if you have any questions.

Title: ‘Social prescribing: linking Australian social, health and community sectors’
Chief Investigators: Professor Svetlana Bogomolova, Dr Candice Oster and Dr Ashleigh Powell.

University: Flinders University

Partner organisations: the Department of Human Services SA, AnglicareSA (in partnership with MarionLife, Baptist Care and Uniting Communities), Adelaide Primary Health Network, City of Onkaparinga, City of Marion, Semantic Consulting.

Duration: 3 years

Funding: $650K ARC + $255K Partner cash and $818K Partner in-kind.