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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Aging and Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1659713

This article is part of the Research TopicSocial Prescribing: Advancing Evidence-Based Public Health PoliciesView all 4 articles

Social Prescribing for Socially Isolated Older Adults in Rural Japan: A Qualitative Case Study

Provisionally accepted
Naho  OtaNaho Ota1Mayu  EbiharaMayu Ebihara2Mizuki  AokiMizuki Aoki2Atsushi  IwasawaAtsushi Iwasawa3Teiichiro  YamazakiTeiichiro Yamazaki2Songee  JungSongee Jung2Sachiko  MakabeSachiko Makabe4Mary  LynchMary Lynch5Charlotte  RothwellCharlotte Rothwell6Jan  IllingJan Illing7Kyoko  NomuraKyoko Nomura2*
  • 1School of Medicine, Akita Daigaku, Akita, Japan
  • 2Department of Environmental Health Science and Public Health, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan
  • 3Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Nutrition, Shukutoku University, chiba, Japan
  • 4Department of Nursing, Akita University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Akita, Japan
  • 5Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
  • 6Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
  • 7Health Professions Education Centre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Introduction: Social prescribing (SP) has not yet been officially introduced in Japan. This qualitative case study aimed to identify the challenges and facilitating factors in the implementation of SP among the socially isolated aged population in Akita Prefecture, Japan, based on the perspectives of general practitioners (GP), link workers (LW), and patients. Method: We conducted a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews and Braun & Clarke-informed thematic analysis in seven medical districts in Akita, Japan, with GP (n=7), LW (n=10), and aged patients (n=4). Results: Participants (GP and LW) emphasized that SP needed to be tailored to individual needs and that LW played a vital role as social resources in sparsely populated rural communities. The project was publicly funded; participants emphasized that, in the absence of financial support, intrinsic motivation would be important to sustaining implementation. Both groups raised concerns about ensuring LW’s competencies, the accessibility and cost of community resources, and the limited availability of such resources in rural areas. Patients highlighted that the effectiveness of SP varied by personal characteristics, and that transport barriers significantly restricted participation, highlighting the need for local support to mitigate this challenge. Establishing patients’ trust in LW and GP, along with effective communication, was viewed as essential for identifying and addressing patient-level barriers. Conclusions: In rural, resource-constrained settings such as Akita, successful SP depends on tailoring to individual needs, ensuring LW competence, and addressing transport barriers. These findings suggest that future policies should focus on sustainable funding for LW, integration with existing health and welfare systems, and mobility solutions.

Keywords: Social prescribing1, Link workers2, Older Adults3, Social isolation4, General practitioners5

Received: 15 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Ota, Ebihara, Aoki, Iwasawa, Yamazaki, Jung, Makabe, Lynch, Rothwell, Illing and Nomura. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Kyoko Nomura, knomura@med.akita-u.ac.jp

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