Have OT's been doing social prescribing for decades?
A very common reaction from occupational therapists upon hearing about social prescribing (SP) is “OT’s have been doing this for decades!” At the core of occupational therapy is the wisdom that engaging in occupations (meaningful activities) is crucial to health and well-being. In that light, OT’s have been “co-prescribing” meaningful activities for as long as any of us can remember. However, it is important to understand that we have been doing one form of social prescribing.
In 2023, Muhl et al. published the results of a Delphi study which developed the first universal definition of social prescribing. This definition includes two different pathways by which SP can occur, as illustrated in the Common Understanding of Social Prescribing (CUSP) Conceptual Framework (see below).
Two Forms/Pathways of Social Prescribing
A trusted person (in a clinical or community setting) identifies that a person has non-medical social needs*, works with them to co-produce a social prescription, and refers the person directly to community-based supports in order to improve their well-being.
A trusted person identifies that a person has non-medical social needs* and refers them a a connector/link worker who works with them to co-produce a social prescription and then refers the person to community-based supports in order to improve their well-being.
It is important that OT’s understand both forms/pathways of social prescribing if we are going to have a voice in the social prescribing movement. We as a profession should be clear that when we say that we have been engaging in social prescribing for decades, that we are specifically referring to pathway #1. This understanding is a vital first step in integrating our profession into pathway #2.
Common Understanding of Social Prescribing (CUSP) Conceptual Framework:
*Of note, I posit that the term “social needs” does not fully do justice to the fact that prescriptions are often born out of a vital need for occupational engagement or occupational balance, but that’s a topic for another day :)
Source: Muhl C, Mulligan K, Bayoumi I, Ashcroft R, Godfrey C. (2023) Establishing internationally accepted conceptual and operational definitions of social prescribing through expert consensus: a Delphi study. BMJ Open, 13(7) doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070184
—Ivory Rose, OTD, OTR/L