AUTHOR=Dash Sarah , McNamara Stella , de Courten Maximilian , Calder Rosemary 

TITLE=Social prescribing for suicide prevention: a proposed model for Australia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1547468

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2025.1547468

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Suicidality is a devastating and burdensome experience that can be a result of complex psychological, biological and social factors. Social prescribing could be well suited to address the diverse non-clinical needs of people experiencing suicidality. International and Australian evidence indicates social prescribing provides an effective and acceptable approach. To address suicide risk and rates in the Australian community, community-based approaches that are visible, readily accessible and that address complex social, practical or non-medical needs are needed. We propose a social prescribing model for suicide prevention that could be implemented in Australia either as a specific purpose service or within existing social prescribing trials, with relevant modifications tailored to suicide prevention. Drawing upon evidence from the literature and a panel of social prescribing experts, we make practical recommendations for implementing a social prescribing model for suicide prevention in Australia, and discuss some of the system-wide requirements to support access and scaling up of these models.