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Lunch Hour Lecture | Social prescribing: ground-breaking or gimmicky?

04 March 2025, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

Social Prescribing

Professor Daisy Fancourt discusses the UK's social prescribing initiative, its widespread adoption, and the ongoing debate about its effectiveness and potential to exacerbate health inequalities.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

UCL Events

About the lecture:

In 2019, the UK government announced a radical, major investment in "social prescribing" as part of its NHS Long Term Plan. A type of personalised care, social prescribing connects individuals with non-clinical supports and services within the community to address diverse health and social needs. Since, an estimated 3 million people in the UK have received social prescribing and the scheme has spread to over 30 countries. But there has been much controversy about whether social prescribing can genuinely address health needs or instead presents an unregulated service potentially even exacerbating health inequalities. This talk will consider the findings to date, including the substantial body of clinical trials and epidemiological analyses led by UCL's Social Biobehavioural Research Group.

UCL's popular public Lunch Hour Lecture series has been running at UCL since 1942, and showcases the exceptional research work being undertaken across UCL. Lectures are free and open to all and since 2020 have been held online.

About the Speaker

Professor Daisy Fancourt

Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology at UCL

Daisy Fancourt
Prof Daisy Fancourt is Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology at UCL and Head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group. Her research focuses on the effects of social behaviours on health, including loneliness, social isolation, leisure activities, arts and cultural engagement, and social prescribing. Daisy has received over £30m in research funding and her work has been recognised with over two dozen national and international research awards. She is Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, a Technical Advisor to the WHO, a scientific adviser to UK Government, a BBC New Generation Thinker, and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Daisy has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers and given over 50 keynotes around the world. She is listed by Clarivate as one of the most highly cited scientists in the world.