Strengthening implementation research on social prescribing in mental healthcare for older adults in Western Pacific Region

Aging population grows faster and has great demand for mental healthcare in the Western Pacific Region. Within the continuum of holistic care framework, mental healthcare for older adults is conceptualized to promote people's mental wellbeing, the “positive” states of mental health. As social determinants accounts much for mental health outcomes, addressing these factors may benefit older adults mental wellbeing in natural settings. Social prescribing, emerged as an innovative approach linking medical and social care, has been observed to potentially benefit mental wellbeing of older adults. However, it remained uncertain how to successfully implement social prescribing schemes in realistic world, such as community. In this viewpoint, we discuss three key elements, i.e., stakeholders, contextual factors, and outcome measures, that might facilitate identification of appropriate implementation strategies. Besides, we argue that implementation research needs to be strengthened and supported, aiming to accumulate evidence for scaling up social prescribing schemes to promote older adults mental wellbeing in the population level. We also provide directions for future implementation research on social prescribing for mental healthcare among older adults in the Western Pacific Region.