Social return on investment of social prescribing via a diabetes technician for preventing type 2 diabetes progression
In Wales, the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has increased from 7.3% in 2016 to 8% in 2020, creating a major concern for the National Health Service (NHS). Social prescribing (SP) has been found to decrease T2DM prevalence and improve wellbeing. The MY LIFE programme, a scheme evaluated between June 2021 and February 2022 in the Conwy West Primary Care Cluster, aimed to prevent T2DM by referring prediabetic patients with a BMI of ≥30 to a diabetes technician (DT), who then signposted patients to community-based SP programmes, such as the National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS), KindEating, and Slimming World. Although some patients engaged with SP, others chose to connect only with the DT. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis was conducted to evaluate those patients who engaged with the DT plus SP, and those who connected solely with the DT. Relevant participant outcomes included ‘mental wellbeing’ and ‘good overall health’, which were measured at baseline (n = 54) and at the eight-week follow-up (n = 24). The estimated social value for every GBP 1 invested for participants who engaged with the ‘DT only’ ranged from GBP 4.67 to 4.70. The social value for participants who engaged with the ‘DT plus SP programme’ ranged from GBP 4.23 to 5.07. The results indicated that most of the social value generated was associated with connecting with the DT.
Funding
KESS 2, in partnership with Bangor University and Conwy West Primary Care Cluster, grant reference 80815
History
Comments
The original article is available at https://www.mdpi.com/Published Citation
Skinner A, Hartfiel N, Lynch M, Jones AW, Edwards RT. Social return on investment of social prescribing via a diabetes technician for preventing type 2 diabetes progression. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023;20(12):6074Publication Date
7 June 2023External DOI
PubMed ID
37372661Department/Unit
- Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery
Publisher
MDPIVersion
- Published Version (Version of Record)