What Is Social Prescribing?
Social prescribing is a person-centered approach that connects people with activities, groups, services, and practical support in their communities to help address the social, practical, and emotional factors affecting their health and well-being.
It recognizes that health is influenced not only by medical conditions and clinical care, but also by relationships, living circumstances, financial security, physical activity, access to nature, meaningful participation, and connection with others.
WHAT SOCIAL PRESCRIBING MEANS
Health concerns do not always have exclusively medical causes or solutions.
People may experience loneliness, social isolation, financial stress, housing difficulties, inactivity, loss of confidence, caring responsibilities, or limited access to supportive relationships and community resources. These circumstances can affect physical health, mental well-being, quality of life, and a person’s ability to manage existing health conditions.
Social prescribing provides a structured way to identify these needs and connect people with appropriate community-based support.
Depending on the local model, people may be introduced to social prescribing through healthcare services, social care providers, community organizations, educational institutions, local authorities, workplaces, or other trusted partners. Some models may also allow direct access or self-referral.
The word “prescribing” describes a purposeful and supported connection to relevant community resources. It does not necessarily mean a medical prescription, and participation should be voluntary and based on informed choice.
HOW SOCIAL PRESCRIBING WORKS
1.Identifying Needs
A healthcare professional, social care provider, community organization, or other trusted partner identifies that a person may have social, practical, or emotional needs that are not fully addressed by clinical care alone.
2.Understanding What Matters
The person is given time to discuss their circumstances, priorities, strengths, interests, and what matters most to them.
This conversation should focus on the person as a whole, rather than only on a diagnosis, symptom, or service need.
Social prescribing models vary across countries, health systems, organizations, and communities. A typical pathway may include five stages:
3.Developing a Personal Plan
The person and the individual supporting them agree on realistic goals and identify activities, services, or resources that may be appropriate, accessible, and meaningful.
4.Connecting with Community Support
The person is supported to access relevant community-based activities, organizations, services, or practical assistance.
This may involve more than simply providing contact information. Some people may need encouragement, introductions, assistance with access, or continued support to participate.
5.Follow-Up and Learning
Where appropriate, progress is reviewed and the plan is adjusted. Outcomes, experiences, access barriers, safety concerns, and implementation lessons may also be evaluated.
PROCESS SUMMARY
Identification or Introduction → What Matters Conversation → Personal Plan → Community Connection → Follow-Up and Outcomes
THE ROLE OF LINK WORKERS AND COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS
In many international models, a trained link worker, community navigator, community connector, or similarly designated team member supports the social prescribing process.
This person may:
• Take time to listen and understand the individual’s circumstances
• Explore the person’s priorities, strengths, and interests
• Help develop a practical and achievable plan
• Identify appropriate community resources
• Support introductions and access
• Coordinate with relevant partners where appropriate
• Follow up on progress and barriers
Job titles, competencies, employment arrangements, and scopes of responsibility vary between health systems. Responsible implementation in Viet Nam will require locally appropriate role definitions, training, supervision, professional boundaries, referral criteria, and governance arrangements.
Social prescribing should not depend on job titles alone. It requires a functioning system of trusted relationships among health and care services, community organizations, and the people they serve.
Social prescribing may connect people with a wide range of community assets.
Community assets include the organizations, groups, services, spaces, networks, activities, knowledge, and relationships available within a community that may contribute to health and well-being.
Depending on individual needs and local availability, social prescribing may include:
Social Connection and Peer Support
Community groups, befriending programs, peer networks, intergenerational activities, support groups, and opportunities to build meaningful relationships.
Physical Activity and Movement
Walking groups, community exercise, recreational sport, dance, movement programs, and other appropriate opportunities to become more physically active.
Arts, Culture, and Heritage
Music, visual arts, theater, crafts, reading, museums, cultural activities, heritage programs, and other forms of creative participation.
Nature-Based Activities
Gardening, community gardens, outdoor activities, conservation, nature groups, and opportunities to spend meaningful time in natural environments.
Learning and Skills Development
Community education, digital skills, language learning, vocational support, creative learning, and other opportunities to develop confidence and capability.
Volunteering and Meaningful Participation
Opportunities to contribute to the community, share experience, develop a sense of purpose, and participate in activities that matter to the individual.
Healthy Living Support
Community-based programs supporting appropriate physical activity, food skills, healthy routines, sleep, stress management, and other aspects of well-being.
Practical and Social Support
Information or assistance related to finances, housing, employment, legal needs, caregiving, disability support, social welfare, transportation, or access to public and community services.
Not every activity or service is appropriate for every person. Connections should reflect individual needs, preferences, safety considerations, accessibility, local capacity, and the quality of available support.
WHO MAY BENEFIT?
WHAT RESPONSIBLE SOCIAL PRESCRIBING REQUIRES
Effective social prescribing is more than referring someone to an activity or giving them a directory of local services.
Responsible implementation requires several connected elements:
Person-Centered Practice
Support should begin with what matters to the individual, including their needs, preferences, strengths, culture, circumstances, and personal goals.
Voluntary Participation
People should understand the available options and be able to choose whether and how they participate.
Accessible and Equitable Support
Programs should consider cost, location, language, disability access, digital access, transportation, cultural relevance, and other barriers that may prevent participation.
Trusted Community Partnerships
Healthcare and other referring organizations need reliable relationships with community partners. Community organizations should be engaged as valued delivery partners, not treated only as destinations for referrals.
Community Asset Mapping
Local organizations, services, activities, networks, and gaps should be identified and understood before referral or navigation pathways are developed.
Clear Roles and Pathways
Referral criteria, responsibilities, communication processes, professional boundaries, follow-up arrangements, and escalation pathways should be clearly defined.
Safety and Safeguarding
Organizations should establish appropriate processes for risk assessment, safeguarding, consent, privacy, data protection, complaints, incident management, and responding to urgent or complex needs.
Workforce Capability
People involved in social prescribing need role-appropriate education, practical tools, supervision, and access to relevant expertise.
Sustainable Community Capacity
Increased referrals can place pressure on community organizations. Implementation should consider funding, workforce, infrastructure, service capacity, and the long-term sustainability of community partners.
Measurement and Evaluation
Social prescribing initiatives should evaluate participation, accessibility, experience, implementation quality, equity, safety, and relevant outcomes.
Evidence should be interpreted carefully because results may vary by model, population, setting, intervention, outcome measure, and local context.
WHAT SOCIAL PRESCRIBING IS NOT
Social prescribing is not a replacement for medical assessment, diagnosis, treatment, mental health care, rehabilitation, social care, or emergency services.
It is also not:
• Simply giving someone a list of community activities
• Assuming that every community resource is safe, accessible, or appropriate
• Directing people to participate without informed choice
• A single standardized intervention suitable for every person
• A substitute for addressing structural barriers or inadequate public services
• A way to transfer responsibility from healthcare services to under-resourced community organizations
• A professional license, clinical specialty, or certification by itself
• A solution that should be implemented without governance, safeguarding, workforce preparation, and evaluation
Social prescribing should complement appropriate health, mental health, social, and community services. People with urgent, severe, or complex needs should be directed to appropriately qualified services.
SOCIAL PRESCRIBING IN THE VIETNAMESE CONTEXT
Social prescribing should not be imported into Viet Nam as a fixed model developed for another health system.
Responsible development requires adaptation to Viet Nam’s:
• Healthcare and primary care structures
• Social care and public health systems
• Local government and community networks
• Cultural and family contexts
• Urban, rural, and regional differences
• Community organizations and informal support systems
• Workforce availability and professional roles
• Legal, ethical, privacy, and data requirements
• Available funding and delivery mechanisms
• Research and evaluation capacity
Viet Nam already has many community relationships, local organizations, cultural activities, public services, social initiatives, and informal support networks that may contribute to health and well-being.
The development of social prescribing should begin by understanding these existing assets, identifying unmet needs and access barriers, and building trusted connections among healthcare, social care, community, academic, public, and civil society partners.
Locally appropriate models should be co-designed, tested through carefully governed pilots, evaluated, and refined before broader implementation.
OUR ROLE
Social Prescribing Vietnam supports the responsible development of social prescribing in Viet Nam through:
• Education and capability building
• Community asset mapping and development
• Implementation readiness and pilot support
• Research, measurement, and evaluation
• Knowledge exchange and international collaboration
We work with healthcare organizations, universities, researchers, public health and social care stakeholders, community organizations, civil society, local authorities, and international partners.
Social Prescribing Vietnam is a development and collaboration platform. It is not a government body, healthcare provider, clinical referral service, emergency service, professional association, or certification authority.
Advance Social Prescribing with Us
We invite academic institutions, policymakers, and NGOs to partner in shaping the future of holistic health in Viet Nam.