Social Prescribing, a new way of promoting psycho-physical well-being and healing through social contacts

Anxiety, depression, loneliness, chronic pain or long-term health conditions, as well as cancer and dementia: these are some of the pathologies that could benefit from ‘Social Prescribing’, that is defined as the ‘prescription’ of activities such as participation in support groups, artistic activities, volunteering, gardening, sports, yoga and training programmes, by healthcare professionals.

The Social Prescribing World Day is officially celebrated on 19 March; it was initially promoted by the British National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) in 2019 and then embraced by more and more countries around the world. The current year, 2025, is the first in which Italy is joining this international opportunity, a radical change in prevention and treatment, crucial in a world dominated by chronic diseases and an increasingly elderly and lonely population. In this campaign, the Faculty of Economics of the Catholic University of the Rome campus has partnered at the international level with the WHO's European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and at the national level with the CNAPPS working group of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, directed by Professor Giovanni Capelli, who is also a professor at the Catholic University of Rome. The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart also actively supports the Policlinico Gemelli, which has long been a pioneer in Social Prescribing, through the “Campus Solidale” di Roma, a network of voluntary associations which work with the hospital (https://roma.unicatt.it/servizi-campus-solidale).  

Several published studies have shown that Social Prescribing can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, especially in people with mild to moderate mental health disorders. A study published in the British Medical Journal (Drinkwater et al., 2019) highlighted all the positive effects of Social Prescribing, which, for example, can significantly reduce loneliness, a major risk factor for various illnesses. Other studies have shown that social prescribing is associated with a reduction in doctor visits and hospital admissions. 

Not only drugs, here comes the ‘prescription’ for socialising activities 

Professor Antonio Giulio de Belvis, Associate in General and Applied Hygiene at the Faculty of Economics of the Università Cattolica - Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS explains: “Social Prescribing is a preventive and therapeutic approach. It starts from the doctor's prescription, then the network of voluntary communities, associations, local authorities or charities guarantees socializing and evidence-based interventions, to supplement and benefit traditional therapies. These activities of psycho-motor or playful-artistic involvement in group, cultural or recreational initiatives (exercise, music, dance, theatre, painting) have proved beneficial for health and psycho-physical well-being. These are public health interventions that link the health sphere with the social one, the personal dimension with the relational one, and that are already part of care in some European health systems, but not yet in Italy, where a formalised, widespread and capillary implementation is needed, according to the promoters”.  

The pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of these interventions, especially among fragile adolescents and the elderly, because they protect, cure and rehabilitate, by enhancing the role of territorial networks on relevant risk factors and conditions, such as social isolation and the continuation of unhealthy habits.  

The results of social prescribing 

According to Giada Scarpetti of the WHO European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, early data show that Social Prescribing has a positive impact on mental health and general well-being. For example, in Canada, a pilot project involved 1,100 patients and generated more than 3,300 social prescriptions, with significant improvements in the sense of belonging to the community and in reducing loneliness. In Germany and in the Netherlands, on the other hand, Social Prescribing was associated with a decrease in doctor visits and greater efficiency in healthcare costs. 

However, some critical issues remain, such as the need for stable funding, standardization of assessment models and better integration with national healthcare systems, Professor de Belvis points out. 

How the Catholic University and Gemelli Hospital is joining the Social Prescribing World Day 

The Faculty of Economics at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is training its international course students on these topics: a second round of seminars on social prescribing (following the one held in December 2024) will be held at the end of May, organised by Professor de Belvis.  

The aim is to provide a rigorous methodological foundation for the management of Social Prescribing.  

As well as to train the “link workers”. Professor de Belvis explains: “The health professional makes the social prescription and refers it to the facilitator, who is a liaison worker between the health service and the services in the community. The seminar aims to form facilitators that organize and evaluate, using managerial tools, the impact of the activities included in the Social Prescribing plan that are delivered by the various actors in the community”.  

Social Prescribing at the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS in Rome 

An example comes from the Breast Unit of the Policlinico Gemelli, directed by Professor Gianluca Franceschini, Professor of General Surgery at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, which collaborates on these issues with the Komen Italia Association, founded by Professor Riccardo Masetti. In order to provide an integrated approach to its patients, the ‘Integrative Therapies in Senology’ Unit directed by Dr. Stefano Magno, Professor of General Surgery at the Catholic University, systematically applies Social Prescribing to women who have undergone breast cancer surgery, accompanying them in their post-surgical recovery (Rossi, 2021). From mindfulness to Qi-gong (exercises for body coordination, breathing and meditation), from acupuncture to walking outdoor through the Pilgrims' Ways, to music therapy: each patient receives a personalized social prescription, according to a paradigm of integrative and personalized care.  

The Gemelli Unit in the last year has offered a wide range of therapeutic interventions based on international guidelines, aimed at women operated for breast cancer, with significant benefits on psychological well-being, stress management and control of side effects related to the anticancer treatments.  

These include 1,550 lifestyle counselling visits, 670 acupuncture treatments to alleviate pain, insomnia, peripheral neuropathy and hot flashes, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) protocols, Qi-Gong sessions, art therapy and music therapy, attended by over 100 patients. Finally, 550 physiotherapy sessions helped post-operative recovery, improving mobility and reducing lymphoedema, thus offering valuable support in the rehabilitation process.  

Thanks to the support of Komen Italia, the patients of the Breast Unit have also been involved in various initiatives from the “Metadinamiche” project, a week-long walking experience in the Maiella Park dedicated to women with metastatic cancer, to the Heritage for Life Project, a week-long stay in Pollica (SA), during which 10 women and their caregivers took part in practical and theoretical sessions on healthy eating, physical activity and cultural traditions of an area, a ‘Blue zone’ for longevity.