Role of social prescribing link workers in supporting adults with physical and mental health long-term conditions: Integrative review

Social prescribing link workers interventions have been widely adopted within healthcare systems, particularly in the UK, to support a range of patients’ needs and to help improve condition management for those living with multiple long-term conditions. However, there is a lack of consistency in implementation and unclear guidance about how social prescribing link workers might address these needs, particularly in individuals living with physical and mental health long-term conditions who bear a greater burden of multifaceted everyday problems and health challenges. This review aimed to identify the existing ways in which link workers might support the needs of this group. Systematic literature search strategies were carried out with a systematic methodology that identified 18 eligible articles that mostly consisted of qualitative studies (N = 10) with the remaining studies employing a range of designs. Following a thorough process of data extraction and synthesis of findings, two principal themes and four subthemes were developed that together helped to explain the process of support and the enablers that determined how successful link workers’ interventions were in supporting adults with physical and mental health long-term conditions. We found that personalised plan development and goal setting was a central collaborative task between the link worker and the patient that helped in “linking” people to beneficial and relevant sources of support. However, the catalyst for a successful change appears to be a combination of a therapeutic relationship with a link worker facilitated by a range of practical advice and “hands on” solutions that were highly desired elements of support. We have identified directives for future research and practical suggestions for enhancing the setup of link workers’ interventions with this group of adults.