The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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The popularity of social prescribing has grown in recent years following a series of high-profile recommendations in scientific reviews, political reports, and media coverage. Social prescribing has the potential to address multiple health and social problems, but few studies have examined how it works. ⋯ SPA appears to benefit individuals by a process that begins with personalised professional help to address social problems and moves through engagement with activities and others, to the recognition of personal and social assets and opportunities.
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Current funding arrangements for undergraduate medical student placements in general practice are widely regarded as outdated, inequitable, and in need of urgent review. ⋯ The costs of undergraduate placements in general practice are considerably greater than funding available at time of writing, and broadly comparable with secondary care funding in the same period. The actual cost of placing a medical student full time in general practice for a 37-week academic year is 40 700 GBP (53 640 USD) compared with the average payment rate of only 22 000 GBP (28 990 USD) per year at the time this study was undertaken.
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High demand for health services is an issue of current importance in England, in part because of the rapidly increasing use of emergency departments (EDs) and GP practices for mental health conditions and the high cost of these services. ⋯ Mental health comorbidities increase the risk of attendances to both EDs and general practice. Further research into the social attributes that contribute to reduced ED and general practice attendance rates is needed.