A ground breaking retrospective study conducted by clinicians and academics at Trinity School of Medicine and St. James’s Hospital has demonstrated that social prescribing (SP) programmes based within hospitals can significantly improve the mental health and wellbeing of older, frail adults. The research, published in Frontiers in Public Health, provides some of the first empirical evidence for the effectiveness of these services in a secondary care setting.

Addressing the "Social Determinants of Health" Social prescribing acknowledges that up to 90% of health outcomes are driven by social determinants, such as loneliness and social isolation, which are rarely addressed in traditional medical consultations. The programme at St. James's Hospital—the first of its kind in an Irish acute hospital—links patients to a dedicated link worker who connects them to non-medical community supports.

Key Findings from the Research:

  • Significant Wellbeing Gains: Mental wellbeing scores on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) rose from 50.2 to 54.8.
  • Clinical Impact: Wellbeing measured by the WHO-5 index saw a dramatic increase from 55.5 to 68.7, representing a 23.8% improvement, well above the 10% threshold for clinical significance.
  • Reaching the Most Vulnerable: The study focused on a complex cohort with a mean age of 80.1 years; 65% lived alone, and 36% were living with dementia.

The study was led by Professor David Robinson, a Consultant Geriatrician at St. James’s Hospital, and Clinical Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin, and Co-Chair of the Social Prescribing Network of Ireland. Professor Robinson, who also serves as the Director of the Memory Clinic at St. James’s Hospital, provided the conceptualisation and supervision for the intervention. Commenting on the study, Prof Robinson said: ” Our findings show that hospital-based social prescribing is feasible and associated with meaningful improvements in wellbeing in frail older adults. The link-worker pathway was essential to meeting the needs of  complex older patients”.

Dr. Louise Brennan, a Social Prescribing Coordinator and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, played a critical role in the study's methodology and the administration of the intervention. Dr. Brennan is also a Chartered Physiotherapist whose research focuses on technology in healthcare and rehabilitation.

The formal statistical analysis for the study was undertaken by Professor Roman Romero-Ortuno, Professor of Ageing Medicine & Frailty (Personal Chair) at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Physician at the Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA). Professor Romero-Ortuno,  highlighted that these findings can inform the development of public health policies to operationalise social prescribing within secondary care.

The research team included experts from the Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St. James’s Hospital and Trinity College Dublin. The study analysed data from 370 patients referred between May 2020 and October 2023, making it one of the largest studies of social prescribing in a hospital-based cohort.

To view paper, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1762593/abstract