Local health carers now have access to a wide-ranging new Social and Community Support pathway, which has been in development for the past two years.
HealthPathways Clinical Editor Dr Sarah Mollard said the pathway brought together information about social and community supports that GPs could use to help their patients when they required a holistic approach that addressed some of the social determinants of health.
‘Estimates suggest that approximately 20% of patients consult their GPs for what are primarily social problems,’ Dr Mollard said.
‘We also think it could be really valuable for practice nurses and other health care providers who might not be working in general practice, such as disability support workers, aged care workers, and counsellors and psychologists.’
The new pathway has links to resources for:
- accommodation support
- disability support
- financial support
- healthy lifestyle
- legal support
- mental health skills and psychosocial support
- peer support
- social inclusion, and
- transport.
‘It will depend a lot from patient to patient what their social support needs might be,’ Dr Mollard said. ‘Some people have quite complex support needs, while others may just need some suggestions about how they can become more socially engaged.’
There are also links to information relevant to specific populations and groups:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
- LGBTIQ
- older people, and
- carers.
The Social and Community Support pathway complements other information available on HealthPathways, including:
- Community Support for Children, Youth, and Carers
- Domestic and Family Violence Psychosocial Support
- Social Work Referrals, and
- the recently developed Disability Support Services page
‘We’re aware that it’s very difficult for a page like this to be comprehensive, so we invite feedback from users as to other types of social and community support they might like information on, or a particular service they might like to recommend for listing,’ Dr Mollard said.