Social prescribing for autistic people: A framework for service provision [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Social Prescribing (SP) is the referral of patients to non-clinical services for practical, physical or psychosocial support. Recent guidelines from the National Health Service England mean that SP will become commonplace for people with complex healthcare needs. Autistic adults make up over 1% of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rebecca A. Charlton, Amanda Roestorf, Catherine J. Crompton, Christopher Torry
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2021-02-01
Series:AMRC Open Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://healthopenresearch.org/articles/2-19/v2
Description
Summary:Social Prescribing (SP) is the referral of patients to non-clinical services for practical, physical or psychosocial support. Recent guidelines from the National Health Service England mean that SP will become commonplace for people with complex healthcare needs. Autistic adults make up over 1% of the population and commonly have co-existing physical and mental health conditions, therefore they are likely to be referred to SP services. As yet, no studies have examined the efficacy of SP for autistic adults. In this letter, we review the existing literature examining the efficacy of SP in the general population. We further examine the factors that should be considered when offering SP to autistic adults in order to optimise outcomes for physical and mental well-being.
ISSN:2517-6900