Effects of Social Prescribing on Emotional Well-being and Social Support in Catalonia

Social prescribing (SP) is an approach to address emotional distress, loneliness and social needs beyond clinical care. In Catalonia, the SP programme connects primary care users with community resources. This study assessed its effectiveness on emotional well-being and perceived social support, focusing on social and gender-related inequalities. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study with a pre–post design, using clinical and administrative records from primary care services in Catalonia. Emotional well-being was measured using the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS, range 7–35) and perceived social support with the Oslo Social Support Scale (OSLO-3, range 3–14), with post-intervention measures collected up to one year after participation. Sex-stratified ANCOVA models were fitted, adjusting for baseline scores and sociodemographic and clinical covariates. The sample included 3,866 participants (84.3% women; mean age 61.9 years). Significant improvements were observed in emotional well-being and social support in both sexes (p < 0.001), with larger changes in emotional well-being (mean increase: +3.7 points in women and +3.9 in men) than in social support (+0.6 and +0.5 points, respectively). Lower baseline emotional well-being scores were associated with greater improvements after the intervention. In women, higher emotional well-being after participation was associated with non-native origin, while lower improvements were observed among psychotropic drug users and those not participating in group activities at primary care centres. In men, higher improvements were mainly observed among those aged 65 years and older. Participation in the SP programme was mainly associated with improvements in emotional well-being, while smaller gains in perceived social support may emerge over longer follow-up. Findings highlight the relevance of SP in primary care and the importance of considering baseline vulnerability and social inequalities.

Key messages

• Social prescribing in primary care was mainly associated with improvements in emotional well-being, particularly among individuals with lower baseline well-being.

• Baseline vulnerability and social inequalities play a key role in shaping the benefits of social prescribing interventions.