Social prescribing for children and young people in the UK: characterising access and care pathways using electronic health records

Objectives We aimed to describe the characteristics of children and young people referred to social prescribing across the UK and understand what social prescribing looks like for these young people. Additionally, we aimed to explore whether access to and experiences of social prescribing vary with age and have changed from 2017 to 2025. Overall, we aimed to identify whether social prescribing reduces or exacerbates health inequalities among children and young people, and whether this has changed over time. Design Analysis of social prescribing electronic health records Setting Social prescribing hubs and services across the UK that use Access Elemental (a cloud-based social prescribing platform) Participants 52,585 individuals referred to social prescribing in 2017-2025 aged 4-25 years (mean=20.04, SD=4.71), of whom 57% were female, 39% male, <2% were in other gender groups, and 3% did not disclose their gender Primary and secondary outcome measures We summarised the characteristics of young people and described the care pathway received. We then used regression models to test whether these factors differed by age and over time. Results Most individuals were aged 18 and over, 91% lived in urban areas and 58% lived in the top three most deprived deciles of the UK. Most were referred by GPs or other allied health workers (79%) and mental health was the leading reason for referral (44%). The typical pathway included 4.64 social prescribing contacts (SD=7.70) totalling 66 minutes (SD=108), with 34% receiving an onward referral to community support. The average age of those referred to social prescribing increased over time. Conclusions Our findings indicate that social prescribing currently has limited reach for those under 18 and this disparity may be increasing. It was promising that children and young people referred to social prescribing were more likely to live in deprived areas. However, given current findings, more work is needed to increase the reach of social prescribing for children and young people across the UK.