In May 2018 the new All Wales Social Prescribing Research Network (WSPRN) funded by the Wales School for Social Care Research (WSSCR) convened a consensus meeting with key individuals from practice, academia, government, statutory and the third sector organisations to set its research priorities for Wales. The meeting was co-chaired by Judith Stone, WCVA and Dr Carolyn Wallace, University of South Wales & PRIME Centre Wales. It subsequently conducted a consultation process with its 170...

This scoping review has been commissioned by the National Collaborative Commissioning Unit (NCCU) as part of a wider body of work exploring the prevalence and type of mental health interventions within Primary Care and, the gaps that exist in mental health intervention. A scoping review is “a preliminary assessment of potential size and scope of available research literature. It aims to identify nature and extent of research evidence (usually including ongoing research)” (Grant & Booth,...

Professors Carolyn Wallace and Mark Llewellyn of the University of South Wales have been working with WCVA to gather insights into the future role of the voluntary sector in achieving wellbeing for the people of Wales. This study was commissioned to explore the role of voluntary organisations as influencers, supporters and deliverers of health and social care services close to home, within the context of ‘A Healthier Wales’, the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act...

The PRIME Centre Wales group at the University of South Wales and the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care (WIHSC) were commissioned by NHS Wales to develop an evaluation framework for the Urgent Primary Care Pathfinder Programme which would meet both local and national requirements. This report provides information about the key outputs from the study, the updated urgent primary care (UPC) literature review and the development of the UPC National Evaluation Framework. The...

Mind Cymru commissioned the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care, University of South Wales, to evaluate a new social prescribing service for people with mental health problems, to enable these people to get the support they need, when they need it. This report provides findings from the study which focused on capturing learning from the design and implementation of the model to inform the effective commissioning of future social prescribing projects and services.

Ignoring race, gender and class when tackling a pandemic can undermine not only wellbeing across Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families and communities (BAME FC) but also their levels of trust in government. A framework to protect wellbeing and resilience in BAME FC during public health emergencies was developed by Co-POWeR to ensure that laws and guidance adopted are culturally competent.

British Red Cross (BRC) commissioned the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care, University of South Wales, to evaluate a new social prescribing service for people with mental health problems, to enable them to get the support they need, when they need it. This report presents findings from the process evaluation of the BRC social prescribing service, which focusses on capturing learning from the design and implementation of the model to inform the effective commissioning...

This review was commissioned by the Welsh Government to undertake a review of dispensing volumes in community pharmacies across Wales. The overall purpose of the study was to consider whether it is feasible to reduce prescription volume in primary care in Wales through practical changes to prescribing and dispensing arrangements; and whether such changes would release significant amounts of pharmacist time to provide direct care. In the light of these two objectives, the review considered...

British Red Cross commissioned the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care, University of South Wales, to evaluate a new social prescribing service for people with mental health problems, to enable them to get the support they need, when they need it. This report draws together findings from the Process Evaluation and the Outcome Evaluation, of which there were n=14 key questions identified, to which data from this report contributes. These questions were adjusted to...

Commissioned by Newport West Neighbourhood Care Network (Cluster), this study aimed to understand the breast screening support needs from the perspectives of eligible population in the area, which has a diverse multicultural population, to address any screening inequalities.

The present study reports on the first ACCORD consensus study, using Group Concept Mapping (Kane & Trochim, 2007) to explore what good practice in social prescribing evaluation should include, from the perspective of researchers, practitioners, managers, commissioners and other social prescribing stakeholders.

Ignoring race, gender and class when tackling a pandemic can undermine not only wellbeing across Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families and communities (BAME FC) but also their levels of trust in government. A framework to protect wellbeing and resilience in BAME FC during public health emergencies was developed by Co-POWeR to ensure that laws and guidance adopted are culturally competent.