Objectives
Social prescribing offers a structured way to connect patients with health-related psychosocial and emotional needs with regional services to strengthen their health, well-being, and social participation.
To gather further practical experience, test different models and develop a standardized, regionally adaptable concept for social prescribing, a further funding call was launched in 2025 as part of the framework work program of the Health Promotion Agenda (2024–2028). This call provides funding for (an estimated) 32 institutions. Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (Department of Health, Society, and Equal Opportunities) was commissioned to manage the funding call and its evaluation.
The evaluation's objectives focus on three key areas: (short-term) impact, equal opportunities, and (sustainable) implementation.
Implementation
To address the research questions, a mixed-methods design was chosen, systematically combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The aim is to answer the evaluation questions comprehensively, theoretically, and from multiple perspectives, and to incorporate the diverse viewpoints of key stakeholders into the analysis. This methodological triangulation makes it possible to map structural patterns, process dynamics, and subjective experiences in the context of social prescribing.
The evaluation is designed as a process-oriented approach based on three key themes. These themes are analytically distinct but closely related and build systematically upon one another in the evaluation process.
In addition to analyzing and evaluating existing data, various qualitative methods are employed to incorporate the perspectives of different stakeholders. For example, multi-perspective case studies are created, focus groups are conducted, and interviews are carried out.
Close and continuous coordination with the commissioning body is of great importance. The collaboration with the GÖG Social Prescribing Team is therefore designed as a structured, transparent and dialogical process.