Barriers and facilitators to the design and delivery of social prescribing services to support adult mental health: Perspectives of social prescribing service providers

Objective. To elicit the barriers and facilitators experienced by social prescribing service providers when designing and delivering social prescribing services to support adult mental health. Design. Semistructured interviews were conducted with social prescribing service providers across England and Wales in the third sector. Data were analysed in accordance with the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Thematic Framework Analysis (TFA). Results. Twenty-one providers (15 females and 6 males) from 17 social prescribing services agreed to participate. Nine analytical themes were identified across seven TDF domains associated with the design of services (e.g., skills and environmental context and resources). Thirteen analytical themes across nine TDF domains were associated with the delivery of services (e.g., beliefs about consequences and optimism). Key recommendations for future social prescribing services were increasing public knowledge of social prescribing; clearly communicating the role of a social prescriber to the public and professionals; providing training to providers on how to safely and effectively lived experiences; adopting a person-centred approach, including use of person-centred measures of mental health and well-being; and strategies to address sustainability of social prescribing services. Conclusions. Service providers are an essential part of the design and delivery of social prescribing services. Person-centred care, sustainable funding, and improved knowledge of social prescribing all warrant further research. Sustainable funding for social prescribing remains a salient policy-level barrier.