Preparing the prescription: a review of the aim and measurement of social referral programmes.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Our aim is to review, and qualitatively evaluate, the aims and measures of social referral programmes. Our first objective is to identify the aims of social referral initiatives. Our second objective is to identify the measures used to evaluate whether the aims of social referral were met.

Design

Literature review.

Background

Social referral programmes, also called social prescribing and emergency case referral, link primary and secondary healthcare with community services, often under the guise of decreasing health system costs.

Method

Following the PRISMA guidelines, we undertook a literature review to address that aim. We searched in five academic online databases and in one online non-academic search engine, including both academic and grey litera

SUBMITTER: Rempel ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5652530 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature