Effects of social prescribing pilot project for the elderly in rural area of South Korea during COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Older adults-classified as a high-risk group-are highly likely to experience increased loneliness due to the implementation of various policies designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the effects of a pilot social prescribing project for elderly people in rural area of South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the effectiveness of the pilot project was verified through pre-and post-impact and outcome evaluation.Results: According to the results of the impact evaluation, loneliness reduced significantly, while the social participation attitude score increased. Although the average score of self-efficacy increased, it was not statistically significant. Moreover, it was found that self-esteem increased significantly. In the outcome evaluation, depression reduced considerably. Conclusion:To conclude, the pilot social prescribing project was effective in reducing depression and loneliness for the elderly in rural areas of Korea. It was also confirmed that there is potential to develop a new health promotion project that can improve the self-esteem of the elderly, and expand their social activities.Second, the pilot project was carried out in an integrated manner by utilizing resources in communities with good accessibility. Therefore, it is expected to be used as a new "Integrated community care model" to improve the mental health of the elderly in rural areas. Third, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly tend to experience increasing feelings of depression, isolation, and loneliness due to "social distancing." Therefore, it is expected that social prescribing programs for the elderly in rural areas would become a new alternative for relieve mental disorder of the seniors.

Systematic review of social prescribing and older adults: where to from here?

“…Three studies did not report socioeconomic factors. 43 44 46 For the study by Thomson and colleagues, an exclusion criteria was participants could not be in any paid or voluntary employment (full time or part time). 45 In the studies by Elston and colleagues 40 and Jones and colleagues, 42 researchers did not directly study socioeconomic status, but the social prescribing programmes were set in areas with some level of deprivation and/or the programme aim was to address inequities, especially for people living on low income.…”

Less Social Participation Is Associated With a Higher Risk of Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Older Adults: A Community-Based Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study

“…Social participation is not only associated with depressive symptoms but also with mortality, disability, and cognitive impairment (12,31,(49)(50)(51)(52). Therefore, strategies, including peer-based interventions (53), social networking sites (54), and integrated resource utilization in the community (55,56), should be reinforced to increase accessibility to social activities and enrich the available types of social participation.…”

Global developments in social prescribing

“…In terms of delivery, some healthcare-based social prescribing programmes opt for a broad approach and make it available to all patients, as piloted in Portugal 10 and Spain. 11 Others target specific populations using referral criteria based on medical conditions (eg, diabetes, depression, anxiety, dementia), [12][13][14] sociodemographic characteristics (eg, older adults, children and adolescents, living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation) 14 15 or prior healthcare utilisation (eg, frequent primary care or emergency department visits). 16 Referrals from healthcare to social prescribing are, most commonly, from primary care (Germany, Netherlands, England, Canada), 5 17-19 but also come from outpatient services such as oncology and gynaecology (USA), 20 community-based nursing (Japan), 21 mental health teams (USA, UK), 22 rehabilitation and intermediate care (Singapore), 23 and acute care or emergency departments (USA, Australia).…”

“…10 18 21 However, many programmes do require additional funding, for salaries, management and infrastructure. 45 This can be developed from existing routes such as research funding (Korea), 14 or more flexible health funding mechanisms (value-based payments in the USA). 46 In England and Australia, funds have been granted through explicit additional mechanisms (NHS England reimbursement in primary care networks and Australia's Primary Health Networks).…”