Use of link workers to provide social prescribing and health and social care coordination for people with complex multimorbidity in socially deprived areas

Use of link workers to provide social prescribing and health and social care coordination for people with complex multimorbidity in socially deprived areas. A randomized controlled trial, process and economic evaluation

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN10287737

Enrollment

600

Registered

2019-12-10

Start date

2020-03-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-02-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Multimorbidity Other

Interventions

The intervention will be a link worker based in a general practice that serves an area of social deprivation. A link worker is a non-health or social care professional and usually has training in coac

it is a mechanism for linking people with non-medical sources of support within the community to improve physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. The link worker will invite participants to attend

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 100 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. >18 years age 2. On 5 or more regular medications 3. Have 2 or more chronic conditions 4. Living in the community 5. Attending a general practice serving a deprived area

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Psychiatric/psychological morbidity/cognitive impairment that would remove the capacity for informed consent 2. Terminal illness likely to lead to death or major disability during the study follow-up period. 3. Living in residential care

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Measured at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months: 1. Health-related quality of life as measured by EQ5DL 2. Mental health as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measured at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months: 1. Patient-reported outcome measures 1.1. Activities of daily living as measured by the Frenchay Activity Index 1.2. Self-efficacy as measured by the Patient Activation Measure 1.3. Burden of treatment measured by Multimorbidity Burden of Treatment Questionnaire 1.4. Social connectedness as measured by the Social Connectedness Scale 2. Health care utilisation in the previous 3 months (data from primary care electronic health records except for use of allied health professionals) to include number of visits to the GP, number medications prescribed, number ED attendances, number and duration hospital admissions, number visits to allied health professionals. 3. Cost to patients (transport costs, fees to attend community resources) 4. Cost to practices (time spent supporting linkworker and referring patients, room hire costs)	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months: 1. Patient-reported outcome measures 1.1. Activities of daily living as measured by the Frenchay Activity Index 1.2. Self-efficacy as measured by the Patient Activation Measure 1.3. Burden of treatment measured by Multimorbidity Burden of Treatment Questionnaire 1.4. Social connectedness as measured by the Social Connectedness Scale 2. Health care utilisation in the previous 3 months (data from primary care electronic health records except for use of allied health professionals) to include number of visits to the GP, number medications prescribed, number ED attendances, number and duration hospital admissions, number visits to allied health professionals. 3. Cost to patients (transport costs, fees to attend community resources) 4. Cost to practices (time spent supporting linkworker and referring patients, room hire costs)

—

Countries

Ireland

Contacts

Public ContactBridget Kiely

bridgetkiely@rcsi.ie+35 31-4774018 Ext 5318

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 19, 2026