Educational standards for Australian social prescribing link workers: a modified Delphi study

Social prescribing integrates comprehensive health and wellbeing outcomes into routine medical care, addressing social determinants alongside biomedical treatment to support prevention and quality of life. In Australia, social prescribing is increasingly recognised in policy with the optimal model involving link workers delivering the intervention. However, no standardised educational framework exists for this emerging workforce. We aimed to develop consensus-based national education standards for social prescribing link workers through stakeholder consultation.

A modified Delphi technique evaluated draft graduate attributes and core competencies through online surveys, with experts rating agreement on 5-point Likert scales. Consensus was defined as ≥80% agreement without critical revision needed as identified in qualitative feedback. Participants included Australian and international experts representing healthcare providers, academics, researchers, educators, and community organisations, recruited through purposive sampling. International experts provided benchmarking against established frameworks. Qualitative data informed revisions between rounds.

Round 1 involved 36 Australian and 11 international experts. Consensus was achieved on seven graduate attributes (Ethical Practitioner, Inclusive and Respectful, Effective Communicator, Critical Thinker and Problem Solver, Systemic Change Catalyst, Community Empowerment and Collaboration, Reflective and Lifelong Learner) and nine core competencies (spanning Australian health system navigation, community development, cultural safety, and evaluation). Round 2 (33 Australian, 10 international) achieved consensus on all revised items.

These standards provide the first consensus-based framework for Australian social prescribing link worker education addressing unique contextual requirements while balancing comprehensive capabilities with practical implementation. The standards represent expert agreement on educational priorities rather than empirically validated outcomes, and require testing through implementation in training programs and practice settings, alongside planned qualitative research with community stakeholders.