TY  - JOUR
T1  - Green social prescribing: challenges and opportunities to implementation in deprived areas
JF  - British Journal of General Practice
JO  - Br J Gen Pract
SP  - 342
LP  - 343
DO  - 10.3399/bjgp23X734409
VL  - 73
IS  - 733
AU  - Frost, Helen
AU  - Tooman, Tricia
AU  - Hawkins, Katie
AU  - Aujla, Navneet
AU  - Mercer, Stewart W
Y1  - 2023/08/01
UR  - http://bjgp.org/content/73/733/342.abstract
N2  - The health and social benefits of exposure to green spaces, such as forests, parks, and community gardens, are increasingly apparent and can improve aspects of both physical and mental health.1,2 However, research has shown that people of lower socioeconomic position (SEP) are the least likely to spend time on such activities, which is a concern given the wide health inequalities that exist between affluent and deprived areas in the UK, and elsewhere in the world.2,3Social prescribing is a policy response to health inequalities in the UK and is being rolled out through community health practitioners or ‘link workers’ in general practice. Green social prescribing (GSP) is a type of prescribing that links patients to nature-based activities.4 All countries of the UK provide some form of service for GSP, but the funding, referral process, and nature-based activities available vary nationally and regionally.5–8The UK Government invested over £4 million in a ‘test and change’ GSP initiative across the seven regions of England in 2020 as a response to the rise in mental health problems during the COVID- 19 pandemic.7 An assessment of the delivery capacity9 and of the perception of GSP among the public and clinicians followed.10 This included a survey of 4000 members of the general …
ER  -