From Policy to Practice: Barriers in Social Prescribing between the UK and Canada

Social prescribing is an emerging model of care that connects individuals to non-clinical supports to address social determinants of health. While the concept originated and is more widely integrated in the United Kingdom, interest in social prescribing is growing in Canada. As both countries continue to explore and expand social prescribing efforts, there is a need to synthesize evidence on how initiatives are structured, implemented, and evaluated across these two contexts. This systematic review aims to identify, compare, and analyze existing literature on social prescribing initiatives in Canada and the United Kingdom. The review will highlight key similarities, differences, strengths, and gaps in each country’s approach to social prescribing. It will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive search will be conducted with a 25-year date limit but no restrictions on language. Databases to be searched include PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid Medline and Scopus, alongside grey literature sources such as Google Scholar, relevant government and organizational websites, and reports from social prescribing networks in both countries. Additionally, we contacted the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) to identify supplementary resources and relevant gray literature. The primary reviewer will conduct screening, full-text assessment, and data extraction, with verification and support provided by a second reviewer (the project supervisor). Findings will be analyzed both thematically and descriptively, and results will be presented in both tabular and narrative form to inform future policy, practice, and research directions.