ORCID
- Kerryn Husk: 0000-0001-5674-8673
Abstract
Social prescribing is a health policy initiative that aims to create closer links betweenhealth services and community activities. Despite its rapid adoption there are concernsabout efficacy and value for money. We used a WELLBY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Year)approach to identify the social value created through a national mental health-focussedgreen social prescribing (GSP) programme in England (2021-23). We found that GSP canlead to significant wellbeing benefits for people experiencing mental ill-health, with asocial return on investment (SROI) of between £2.38-£5.90. However, we argue that theWELLBY approach should not be used uncritically. In our study WELLBYs proved to be aneffective social value measure for low to mid cost GSP pathways where the targetbeneficiaries are likely to have mild to moderate mental health needs. For higher costpathways providing targeted support for people with severe mental health needs theWELLBY was less effective and clinical measures of value may be more appropriate.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2026-05-22
Publication Title
People, Place and Policy
Volume
20
Issue
1
Acceptance Date
2026-05-10
Deposit Date
2026-05-24
Funding
This article has been developed by a team of researchers commissioned by Defra to undertake an independent evaluation of the Preventing and Tackling Mental Ill Health through Green Social Prescribing Project (2021-23). The main evaluation report referenced throughout this article, and the accompanying briefing, summary and appendices documents, are published by Defra (Defra Project Code BE0191) and are available from the Department’s Science and Research Projects Database at https://randd.defra.gov.uk Whilst the research was commissioned by Defra, the views expressed in this article reflect the evaluation findings and the authors’ subsequent analysis of the data; they do not necessarily reflect Defra policy.
Keywords
Social prescribing, Wellbeing, Mental health, Economic evaluation, Social value
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
First Page
1
Last Page
20
Recommended Citation
Dayson, C., Wilson, I., Leather, D., Foster, A., Jaques, R., Haywood, A., Garside, R., Harris, C., Hunt, H., Holding, E., Husk, K., Lovell, R., Shearn, K., Dobson, J., & Thompson, J. (2026) 'Using WELLBYs to demonstrate the social value of social prescribing at a national level: evidence from Green Social Prescribing in England', People, Place and Policy, 20(1), pp. 1-20. Available at: 10.3351/ppp.2026.3524966557
