BMJ Open. 2026 Sep 4;16(9):e120561. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120561.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Mental health disorders among children and young people are a substantial global public health concern. Barriers to accessing specialist mental health services, particularly long waiting times, can exacerbate poor mental health. Recently, there has been an increase in the adoption of social prescribing to support children and young people to address this concern; however, the evidence of its impact on mental health remains limited. The key objective of this study was to explore how children, young people and their families experience the impact of a new social prescribing service in the Northwest of England.
DESIGN: The qualitative study adopted an Interpretive Description (ID) approach defined by Sally Thorne. Reporting of the study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 children and young people aged 8-17 years who had accessed the social prescribing service. In addition, 27 parents and caregivers of children and young people who had accessed the service were also interviewed. This study formed part of an independent evaluation of the service in which interviews took place both face to face and online.
DATA ANALYSIS: Inductive reflexive thematic analysis outlined by Braun and Clarke was employed to analyse the data.
RESULTS: Five themes emerged which described the perceived impact of the service and the key mechanisms of how the impact may have been achieved. Children and young people described feeling less emotional distress, lower levels of anxiety and increased social confidence. The impact extended beyond those in direct receipt of the service, reducing parental stress, improving family interaction and strengthening relationships. Key mechanisms underpinning the impact included a trusting relationship with a link worker and the learning of cognitive coping strategies that were employed to help overcome emotional distress.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that social prescribing may function as a relational early intervention that supports emotional stabilisation and re-engagement with education and social contexts. However, further research is needed to confirm and quantify the effectiveness across different service models and settings.
PMID:42697576 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120561
