Exploring link workers’ experiences and intentions to quit

Our health is affected by things that are not just to do with the body. How we feel, physically and emotionally, can be influenced by the circumstances in which we live. For example, loneliness or worries about money can affect people’s mood and motivation. This may stop them looking after their health. Social prescribing is a way of helping. It involves connecting people to groups/organisations/services that can provide social, emotional or practical support (e.g. to a charity that offers advice on debt management or to a luncheon club where people can socialise).

Social prescribing link workers are employed to work in GP practices and are key to social prescribing. They encourage patients to talk about challenging social and/or emotional circumstances affecting their health. Link workers can then connect patients to groups/organisations/services in the community that are relevant to their needs.

A questionnaire sent to link workers in 2020 found that a third of those who responded were thinking about leaving their job. Being a link worker, although rewarding, can be difficult. Those employed in this role do not have a specific qualification to be a link worker. They support people who are finding life challenging (e.g. because they are lonely, are worried about where they live or how they will afford food). Link workers may not always receive the training or supervision they need in their workplace to manage the stress that can come from the job. The proposed research will fill a gap in knowledge that we have identified from previous research we have carried out on the link worker role. The study aims to understand factors that shape how link workers find doing their job. It will explore how these factors affect their wish to stay in or leave their job.

We will ask link workers to complete a questionnaire. We will then invite some of them to be interviewed. Interviews will allow us to explore findings from the questionnaire in more detail. Before interviews, link workers will be asked to take photographs of things that reflect their experiences of the job. These photographs will be discussed as part of the interview.

Information from the questionnaire and interviews will allow us to understand how link workers experience their role. This is important for managers and policy makers to hear. It will allow us to think of ways to help link workers feel confident in their job and to develop ways to assist them. It is essential to create approaches to support link workers in their role to ensure that social prescribing in primary care is sustainable and successful.

Amount awarded: £86,237