The topic of social prescribing is of global interest and is conducted in various formats in different parts of the world. This international interest has led to the development of a definition of social prescribing, produced by experts from a range of countries, stating that social prescribing is a way for trusted individuals to recognize that a patient has health-related but non-medical social needs, both in clinical and community settings, and to co-produce a social prescription, which is a non-medical prescription that can connect them to non-clinical supports and services within the community, improving both health and wellbeing and connections within the community.

The variation in the way social prescribing is delivered within and across countries makes it a challenging but interesting area of research. There is much that can be learned from the range of ways it is being implemented and how this may bring about different outcomes. Alongside this diversity in the implementation of social prescribing is the consideration of what and how to measure or assess its impact. Various outcomes may be important to different stakeholders. These could include (but are not limited to) patient satisfaction, demands on primary care staff, cost and retention of social prescribing staff.

The varying ways in which social prescribing is being delivered, and debates around assessing or defining outcomes from it, makes it an area that has and continues to be of interest to researchers from a range of disciplines. The aim of this Special Issue is to explore this topic from divergent perspectives by using a range of methods. This Special Issue welcomes research papers that report on a novel methodological approach to researching social prescribing and/or explore under-investigated elements of social prescribing.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Identifying, understanding, or measuring impact and outcomes in social prescribing (including cost-effectiveness)
• Issues related to data capture across social prescribing pathways; systems, completeness, and reporting
• The role of the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector in social prescribing (including ecosystems required to support this and impact of social prescribing for this sector)
• Link workers as community advocates and community solution developers
• Reach of social prescribing and social prescribing activities for diverse or specific populations
• Specializations in social prescribing (including for children, young people, and families; drug and addictions; older people; learning disabilities)
• Health inequalities and the potential role of social prescribing
• Workforce issues related to social prescribing
• Comparison of different forms of delivering social prescribing (including comparisons across countries)
• Innovations in the delivery of social prescribing (including the use of technology and digital formats)
• How funding models impact service delivery
• Policy related to social prescribing and associated factors around implementation
• Harms, risks, and opportunity costs associated with social prescribing approaches