NL
In cooperation with the national knowledge network Welzijn op Recept, IQ Health conducted research into the implementation of Welzijn op Recept in the Netherlands. Dr. Roos Mesman was involved in this for IQ healthcare. Using a questionnaire, insight was gained into the range and quality of implementation from the perspective of welfare professionals. The number of municipalities working with Welfare on Recipe has increased. The implementation shows that not all essential elements and steps are yet put into practice.
Welfare on Recipe is an alternative for people with psychosocial complaints. Instead of prescribing the "traditional pill," the GP refers these patients to a wellness coach. The aim is twofold: 1. to increase the well-being of patients with psychosocial problems, 2. to reduce the use of care in primary care.
In the summer of 2023, 256 well-being professionals in 170 municipalities were approached with a questionnaire about the reach and implementation of Well-Being on Recipe in practice. The results of 107 respondents from 93 municipalities were analyzed and incorporated into a report (response rate of 42%). This included a comparison with the results of a previous measurement, the 2019 Quick Scan.
The reach of Welzijn op Recept in the Netherlands has increased from 84 municipalities in 2019 to 170 municipalities in 2023. It has thus become a national movement and also part of the prevention agenda from the Integral Care Agreement (IZA) and Healthy and Active Living Agreement (GALA). The results of the monitor show that especially older residents with loneliness problems are referred within Welfare on Recipe. The increasing attention to the added value for younger people with mild psychological and/or anxiety complaints is not yet evident in this study. Furthermore, the focus still seems to be mainly on supporting the individual and to a lesser extent on the broader social basis and collective approach in a city, village or neighborhood.
The quality of the implementation of Welfare on Recipe was questioned on the basis of essential elements and steps derived from previous research. Welfare organizations have a number of aspects well in place, such as a vision with concrete goals for Welfare on Recipe, the support base, permanent contact persons and clear agreements on who does what and when. What is often missing is a vision for the collaboration with health care, the social domain and providers of activities. In both the support process by the welfare coach and the cooperation within Welzijn op Recept, it appears that not all essential elements and steps are yet put into practice.
Welzijn op Recept is pre-eminently a cross-domain cooperation model and not a referral model. At the operational level, referral agreements are often made, but the more administrative and tactical agreements or preconditions are missing. These include: structural consultation, registering data about the pathways, setting up monitoring and joint evaluations. In some municipalities the movement has started from referral to cooperation in learning networks. It is interesting to stimulate and follow this development.
The National Monitor will be followed up and then focused on the implementation of Welzijn op Recept by primary care providers.
The report with the results of the National monitor Welzijn op Recept is available at the National Knowledge Network Welzijn op Recept: https://welzijnoprecept.nl/resultaten-landelijke-monitor-welzijn-op-recept-2023/