It’s an initiative extinguishing loneliness and social isolation in 25 countries and has now found a comfortable place to grow in rural Western Australia.
Social prescribing is the practice of referring patients to non-medical interventions like social supports and community-based programs. Rather than prescribing medication or another clinical intervention, a health professional might refer someone to a social group, gardening program, exercise class, creative activity, financial counselling service or other community-based support.
Health professionals have long understood that good health is shaped by more than symptoms, tests and treatment plans. A GP may know that a patient’s grief is compounded by living alone. A nurse may recognise that someone managing diabetes also needs help accessing food, transport or a safe place to exercise. An allied health professional may see that a person’s recovery is limited not by clinical care, but by isolation, low confidence or lack of community connection.
In many rural towns, this kind of care already happens informally. Health professionals connect people with walking groups, men’s sheds, art classes, volunteering opportunities, local support services, cultural activities and community groups – often because they know the people, the services and the gaps in their own community.
Social prescribing gives this instinctive, community-centred practice a clearer framework.
In formal models, used widely in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this often involves a link worker; a professional who works with the person to understand their needs, develop a plan and support them to connect with the right local services. However, there are few formal models in place across Australia.
In 2025, the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC) investigated social prescribing as part of a national feasibility study.
The study found people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage or those with complex non-clinical needs saw their GP more frequently. It also found that GPs spend significant time addressing non-clinical issues.
Social prescribing was associated with a wide range of benefits to individuals and the broader community, including improved health and wellbeing, increased community participation, and enhanced social connectedness.
The Albany Connected Communities Project
In Albany, this idea is being tested through the Albany Connected Communities Project (ACCP), delivered by Amity Health.
Amity Health Chief Executive Officer Pam Bubrzycki said local health services had noted an increasing number of patients who were presenting with unmet social needs such as social isolation, lack of connection and limited social supports.
The three-year pilot project is working to address these social needs by connecting participants with appropriate community-based supports, activities, and programs while also improving health literacy and reducing stigma associated with loneliness and mental ill health.
“Local GPs reported that unmet social needs significantly impacted their workload with estimates of 50-80 per cent of consultations touching on these issues,” Pam said. Funded under the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s Innovative Models of Care grants, the ACCP delivers preventative support.
Intake screening data showed more than half of program participants reported a general sense of emptiness. Forty-one per cent missed having people around them while 35 per cent felt rejected by community, family and/or friends.
The data also found that just 33 per cent had enough people they feel close to.
Almost 150 people have participated in the pilot during the first 12 months, prescribed a range of activities across 100 different community groups and services.
People have taken part in walking groups and yoga, flexed their creative muscles in art and music classes, and have been referred to advice, information and social supports helping with food and housing insecurities.
Results so far
Independently evaluated by Nous Group, early analysis indicates that the project is helping to improve health and wellbeing.
“Some participants described the program as a lifeline,” Pam said.
“They felt less lonely, less socially isolated and had fewer feelings and feelings of emptiness and rejection. They were less likely to experience a general sense of emptiness.
“The number of participants who reported they often felt rejected decreased by half while more participants felt they had people to rely on when they had problems, as well as people they could trust completely by the time they had completed the program.”
Confidence building, learning new skills and fostering a sense of personal growth were also noted by participants.
“All of which have contributed to fostering a greater sense of community and belonging and improving their sense of wellbeing,” she said.
There has also been increased engagement with support and mental health services resulting in higher-than-expected numbers of mental health referrals.
One participant who says the program has changed her life is Jenny, who struggled with feelings of loneliness and isolation after her husband passed away 10 years ago.
“I found it difficult to adjust and find a place in the world,” Jenny said.
She suffered periods of depression and anxiety and grew increasingly ‘frustrated’ at herself for not being able to ‘move on’ with life.
This ongoing cycle led to a decline in health and led her to a physical breakdown where she was taken to hospital. It was there where a social worker suggested the ACCP.
“The program has been life changing,” she said.
She now has a renewed sense of confidence, built friendships with neighbours, and attends a range of social occasions and events. Jenny has joined a local book club, purchased an e-bike and has learnt how to play the ukulele.
And, for the first year in a decade, Jenny has not struggled on the anniversary of her husband’s death.
Beyond the responses from participants, Pam said Amity had received great support from GPs, community mental health organisations, the hospital, and the City of Albany.
The Australian landscape
According to the 2020-2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, an estimated 43 per cent of the population have experienced a mental illness during their life.
A study from the Household Income Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) estimated 15 per cent of Australians (18 per cent of males and 12 per cent of females) aged 18 and over experienced social isolation.
The same study found an estimated 15 per cent of Australians (15 per cent of males and 16 per cent of females) experienced loneliness.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) said this growing epidemic of loneliness and social isolation in Australia called for social prescribing to be recognised as an essential part of modern healthcare.
“Loneliness, isolation, financial stress and lack of community connection all have profound impacts on physical and mental health,” said Dr Kuljit Singh, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Social Prescribing.
“Social prescribing helps address these issues by recognising community connection as part of the treatment.”
Why rural context matters
Rural people can face greater barriers to healthcare, transport and digital access. At the same time, rural communities can have strong informal networks, deep local knowledge and a culture of looking after each other.
A formal social prescribing approach can help clinicians have greater confidence to identify social needs, provide a clearer process for referral, and help community organisations become recognised as part of the broader wellbeing ecosystem.
The growing interest in social prescribing does not suggest that rural health professionals have been overlooking social needs. In many cases, they have been responding to them for years – often quietly, creatively and without additional funding.
What social prescribing offers is a way to make that work more visible, more consistent and more sustainable.
And it creates a common language for something rural clinicians already know: that connection, purpose, belonging and practical support can be as important to health as any clinical intervention.
Social Prescribing:
It bridges the health and community sectors to better integrate social care for individuals and can be broken up into four main intervention types:
- Physical activity (eg exercise groups, community dance classes).
- Arts, culture and heritage (eg art or music classes, community-based cultural activities).
- Nature-based prescribing (eg bushwalking, gardening programs).
- Advice and information (eg community legal services, housing support services).
Source: Social Prescribing in the Australian Context: A National Feasibility Study.