What Is Social Prescribing?
Connecting healthcare, social needs and community resources through care navigation and responsible implementation.
Social prescribing is a person-centred approach that connects people with appropriate non-clinical activities, services and practical support in their communities when social, practical or emotional factors are affecting their health and well-being.
At its core, it starts with what matters to the person. The aim is not simply to make a referral or provide a list of services, but to help people find and access support that is appropriate to their needs, preferences and circumstances.
How Social Prescribing Works
There is no single model that applies everywhere. A typical pathway may involve:
Identify → Understand What Matters → Navigate → Connect → Follow Up & Learn
People may enter through healthcare, social care, community organizations, public services or other trusted partners, and some models may allow self-referral. The process should be person-centred, voluntary and proportionate to individual needs.
The person supporting this journey may be called a link worker, community navigator, care navigator, community connector or another locally appropriate title. Social prescribing does not depend on one specific job title or workforce model.
Depending on individual needs and what is available locally, connections may include social and peer support, physical activity, arts and cultural activities, nature-based programs, learning and volunteering, caregiver support, healthy living activities, and practical services related to areas such as housing, finances, transportation, employment or social welfare.
Not every activity or service is appropriate for every person. Accessibility, eligibility, safety, quality, cultural relevance, individual choice and local capacity all matter.
Who May Find It Relevant?
Responsible Implementation Matters
Social prescribing is more than referral. Effective implementation depends on the quality of the pathway around the referral: who identifies needs, who provides navigation, what resources are available, how responsibilities are defined, how consent and privacy are managed, how risks are recognized and escalated, whether people can actually access the support, and how outcomes and unintended effects are monitored.
Community organizations also need to be treated as partners, not simply as destinations for referrals. Their capacity, sustainability and ability to provide safe and appropriate support matter.
What Does the Evidence Tell Us?
International evidence on social prescribing continues to grow, but findings remain mixed and highly dependent on context. Studies commonly examine outcomes such as well-being, social connection, loneliness, confidence, participation and quality of life, while evidence for clinical outcomes, healthcare utilization and economic impact remains more variable.
This is why implementation and evaluation matter. Social prescribing should not be treated as a single standardized intervention that will produce the same results everywhere.
Social Prescribing in Viet Nam
Social prescribing should not simply be imported into Viet Nam as a model designed for another health system.
Viet Nam already has healthcare services, medical social work, public and social services, community organizations, family and informal support networks, and many locally rooted activities that may contribute to health and well-being. The opportunity is to understand these existing resources, identify gaps and barriers, and develop better connections between healthcare and appropriate community support.
Social prescribing and care navigation should complement, not replace, existing healthcare, professional social work, social care or other established services. Locally appropriate approaches should be mapped, co-designed, tested, evaluated and refined before wider implementation.
What Social Prescribing Is Not
Social prescribing does not replace medical assessment or treatment, mental health care, rehabilitation, professional social work, social care or emergency services.
It is also not simply handing someone a directory, directing them to participate in an activity without informed choice, assuming every community resource is appropriate, or transferring responsibility from healthcare and public services to community organizations.
From Evidence to Responsible Implementation
Social Prescribing Vietnam supports the responsible development of social prescribing and community-connected care through evidence, education, care navigation approaches, community resource mapping, implementation, research, evaluation and collaboration.
Our focus is on understanding what can work in Viet Nam, how it can be implemented responsibly, and how healthcare, social needs and community resources can be connected more effectively.