JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social Prescribing (SP) takes a holistic approach to health by linking clients from clinical settings to community programs to address their non-medical needs. The emerging evidence base for SP demonstrates variability in the design and implementation of different SP initiatives. To effectively address these needs, co-production among clients, communities, stakeholders, and policymakers is important for tailoring SP initiatives for optimal uptake.

Objective:

To explore the role of co-production in SP initiatives. The research question is: how and for what purpose has co-production been incorporated across a range of SP initiatives for different clients?

Methods:

A review of international literature will be conducted following the JBI guidelines for scoping reviews. We will search multiple databases including Scopus, Medline, and the PAIS Index, as well as grey literature from 2000-2023. The primary studies included will describe a non-medical need for clients, a non-medical SP program or initiative, co-production of the SP program and any follow up. Review articles and commentaries will be excluded. Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles will be screened, and data will be extracted by at least two research team members using Covidence, and a pilot-tested extraction template. Clients with lived experience will also participate in the research process. Findings will be descriptively summarized and thematically synthesized to answer the research question.

Results:

At this time we do not have results, but expect them by the end of 2024.

Conclusions:

Descriptions of what co-production is meant to accomplish may differ from theoretical aspirations. Continued understanding of how co-production has been designed and executed across varied international SP models is important for framing engagement in practice for future SP arrangements, and their evaluation. We anticipate this review will guide clients, communities, stakeholders, and policymakers in further developing SP practice within healthcare systems.