This document incorporates significant experiential evidence through expert consultations with practitioners who have lived experience and those implementing/evaluating social prescribing programs. However, it's primarily a policy brief synthesizing research evidence and expert knowledge rather than being directly authored from experiential perspectives or lived experience of suicide/mental health challenges
Social prescribing for suicide prevention
Overview
This policy brief from Mitchell Institute and Victoria University examines social prescribing for suicide prevention in Australia. Social prescribing connects people to non-clinical community supports addressing social determinants of health. The authors conducted a rapid review and expert consultations to propose evidence-informed models featuring link workers, warm referrals, and PHN commissioning.
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Key insights
Key Insights:
- Social prescribing addresses non-clinical factors contributing to suicide risk and prevention
- Link workers are central - trained connectors between clinical care and community supports
- Warm referrals essential - personal handoffs between care team members with person present
- Multiple referral pathways needed - GPs, emergency services, self-referral, community organizations
- PHN commissioning recommended - existing infrastructure ideal for funding and implementation
- Community co-design crucial - flexible approaches tailored to local needs and populations
- Integration with existing services - embed within broader social prescribing models
- Limited evidence base - only 14 studies found, more research needed
Did this resource draw on transformative evidence?
This document significantly incorporates practice wisdom through expert consultations with practitioners implementing and evaluating social prescribing models. The authors consulted professionals with direct experience in social prescribing delivery, providing practical insights on warm referrals, link worker roles, and implementation challenges that informed the proposed models.
This document is extensively based on research and evaluation insights. It conducted a systematic rapid review of 3,063 publications, ultimately including 14 studies in the final analysis. The authors synthesized academic and grey literature, evaluated existing social prescribing programs, and integrated findings to develop evidence-informed policy recommendations and implementation models.