Social Prescribing and Students: A Scoping Review

Social prescribing involves identifying a person’s non-medical, health-related social needs, where they are connected to non-medical supports and services. Since the social prescribing movement is rapidly expanding to over 20 countries globally, students play a role in meaningfully contributing, taking on the connector role, or benefitting. Yet, no studies describe the extent and type of evidence on social prescribing and students. We aim to contribute to the evidence base on social prescribing and investigate the numerous intersections and reciprocal influence between social prescribing and students. We sought to understand (1) the extent and types of evidence on social prescribing and students and (2) the knowledge gaps in the evidence base around social prescribing and students. We included evidence sources where the participants are labelled as students, with no age limits and considered references with interventions that aligns with the conditions set that reflects the definition of social prescribing. Both published and unpublished literature will be included, following our protocol registered on Open Science Framework and the JBI methodology for scoping review. Two independent reviewers completed the data extraction, with a discussion or third reviewer used to address conflicts. Grey literature searches did not yield any applicable evidence sources. We seek to provide information about the participants, concepts, programs, study methods, and outcomes from the 18 evidence sources that met the criteria. Social prescribing is a solution to address the limitations of conventional medical practices where student involvement is crucial as they are the future leaders in research, policy shaping, and implementation of social prescriptions. The authors are involved in the Canadian Social Prescribing Student Collective. This novel study, co-created by students in undergraduate and graduate programs, will encourage the participation of students in social prescriptions, identify specific knowledge gaps, and include student perspectives.