Are Dutch GPs selecting the right patients for social prescribing? Analyzing the participants characteristics and their prior health care utilization

Abstract

Abstract Background Not all healthcare demands are primarily medical in nature and a proportion are related to social or psychosocial challenges. Social Prescribing (SP) programs potentially address the increasing healthcare demands and unmet needs in general practices by prescribing non-medical activities. We studied (1) the characteristics of the individuals referred to SP and their patterns of health and social care utilization in the three years prior to their referral compared to a propensity score matched sample and (2) their help requests and SP trajectories followed within the program. Methods This retrospective observational study included individuals referred to SP in The Hague between January 2022 and December 2024. The final dataset consisted of N = 111 individuals. Three datasets were linked at the individual level within the Statistics Netherlands secure environment. A propensity score matched sample was constructed for comparison with the SP study group. Descriptive analyses were conducted on demographics, healthcare and social care expenditures. In addition, significance tests were performed to assess whether costs changed over time prior to the program and to determine whether there was a significant difference between the study group and propensity score matched sample. Data of the social welfare organization provided insights into help requests and SP trajectories. Results The individuals referred to SP are on average 63 years old, 68.5% women and 62.2% has a low standardized household income. Individuals in the SP group had a higher health and social care utilization in the three years prior to the referral, compared to the propensity score matched sample. The study group had a wide range of help requests, with ‘financial matters and regulations’ as the most common help request. Conclusions This study shows that participants in SP still have medical needs that cannot be replaced by the social sector. At the same time, rising GP care expenditures indicate increasing vulnerability prior to SP. The reported help requests highlight social needs, suggesting that, alongside GP care for medical issues, these individuals would benefit from additional support from the social sector. These findings provide early insights and a foundation for sustainable, evidence-based evaluation of SP in practice.