Many things affect your health and wellbeing. Whilst medicine can treat your symptoms, restoring your quality of life can require a broader approach.
For the times that can’t be fixed by doctors or medicine alone, some people are turning to help in their local community groups for ways they can feel better, together.
What are community groups?
Community groups are any group activity sessions that run in your local area. This can range from exercise classes to painting to pottery – or even just getting together with like-minded people to chat. The idea is that these community groups can actually enhance your physical and mental wellbeing without or supplementing medical treatment.
Whether it’s choir practice to soothe your asthma, gardening to improve your mental wellbeing, or swimming to help you keep active, there’s something that can suit everyone’s wellbeing needs.
Examples of community groups include:
- Volunteering
- Arts and crafts, e.g. painting groups
- Group learning, e.g. language classes
- Gardening
- Cookery
- Healthy eating advice
- Sports and fitness sessions, e.g. yoga, swimming, etc.
‘Help that doesn’t come in a pillbox’
Primarily, getting help from community groups is a great self-care tool. As it’s not meant to replace medical treatment, it’s been dubbed a ‘more than medicine approach’ that provides people with the information and confidence to look after themselves in a way that complements the treatment from their clinician.
Who can benefit?
Generally speaking, those who could benefit most from these community groups include people with mild or long-term mental health problems, people who feel socially isolated, or those who frequently attend GP or hospital appointments.
But even if you don’t have a diagnosed condition, you can still join in! Community groups are also shown to prevent ill health in the future, so you don’t have to wait until you’re unwell to start improving your health.
A self-care revolution
When you go for an appointment, your doctor, GP, nurse or other health provider can refer you to these local, non-clinical community groups to help you manage your health. It’s a personalised healthcare initiative called social prescribing (also known as community referral).
The King’s Fund say that because a person’s health is determined by a range of different factors – including financial or environmental – social prescribing can help people in a holistic way. It’s designed to boost the non-medical aspects of health – strong relationships, a feeling of purpose, and maintaining your mental wellbeing.
Money matters
People may have concerns about whether NHS money should pay for these groups and classes, but a lot of these community activities are run by volunteers – so most don’t cost a thing! There are some groups which have a small fee if you want to join, but the large majority are free.
But, do community groups work?
There’s emerging evidence that getting help from community groups can lead to a range of positive health and wellbeing results. According to the Mental Health Foundation, participating in community activities, like volunteering, can reduce your risk of anxiety and depression, whilst bolstering self-esteem, confidence and overall wellbeing. This is especially the case during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social prescribing community groups may also lead to less reliance on NHS services. Evaluations done in nine local health systems across England found that social prescribing can considerably reduce pressure on the NHS, including through reduced GP appointments, hospital admissions and A&E visits.
Reductions in demand for health services were especially high for frequent service users. In Kirklees, social prescribing support for frequent users reduced GP appointments by 50% and A&E attendances by 66%. Similar results were seen in Rotherham, where frequent users’ A&E attendances were reduced up to 43%.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of specific community groups.
Petal power
Gardening has been shown to have benefits for both the mind and body. Heavy lifting can certainly bring on a sweat, but tending to plants is also a great way to work on your posture and maintain balance. This will keep your ankles, hips and lower back strong and flexible.
Simply being in a garden can equally offer a health boost. Finding tranquility in nature, gardeners appear to have reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol. So, gardening may even correspond to better sleep!
Singing choir’s praises
There’s been a mainstream attitude change to choirs in recent years attracting a new crowd to the idea of good communal singalong! In research conducted at Oxford University, group singing is great for forming personal bonds in wider social networks – and quickly too – it’s an excellent icebreaker. And isn’t that precisely what we need when our interactions are often impersonally communicated through Facebook or email?
Not only is choir practice great for socialising, it exercises the brain and body too. It can help with improving breathing, posture and muscle tension, which is why it may be prescribed to people with respiratory conditions like COPD. As well as this, the act of learning a new song stimulates the brain which can boost memory function. Singing has been evidenced to help those suffering from dementia.
Painting a bigger picture
Several studies, including in the British Medical Journal, point towards using art to support good wellbeing. The research found that art, such as painting, print-making and sculpturing, can maintain wellness and aid recovery from illnesses. The arts can also help with healthcare challenges like ageing, loneliness, long-term conditions and mental health.
Walking can do wonders
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that outdoor walking groups have health benefits that go beyond making people physically active. These included statistically significant improvements in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat, BMI, total cholesterol, VO2 max, and depression.
Analysis of walking interviews and focus group discussions with people living with dementia, family carers, volunteers and walk-leaders who took part in a national programme of dementia-friendly walking groups in Scotland, found walking had a wealth of benefits for those living with the condition. These included providing an opportunity to continue to socially participate and maintain relationships for people with dementia and family carers. Walking groups also provided a safe space where people with dementia could walk with autonomy and helped to reinforce a sense of independence.
Get connected with Evergreen Life
If you think community groups can help you feel better, you can quickly and easily book a doctor’s appointment online with the Evergreen Life app and ask your doctor for a referral to local activities in your area. Join the self-care revolution.
Why not take control of your health today? With the Evergreen Life app and website, everyone in England can book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and view their GP record online. Download the app now and start your wellness journey.
- Bowe M, Wakefield JRH, Kellezi B, et al. (2021) The mental health benefits of community helping during crisis: Coordinated helping, community identification and sense of unity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community & Applied Social Psychology. 23(3): pp.521-535. (doi: 10.1002/casp.2520).
- Brotons M, Koger SM and Picket-Cooper P (1997) Music and Dementias: A Review of Literature. Journal of Music Therapy. 34(4): pp. 204-245 (doi: 10.1093/jmt/34.4.204).
- Hanson S and Jones A (2015) Is there evidence that walking groups have health benefits? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 49:7: pp.710-715. (doi:
- Mental Health Foundation (n.d.) How community benefits your mental health. [online] Available here.
- National Academy for Social Prescribing (2024) The impact of social prescribing on health service use and costs. [online] Available here.
- Robertson JM, Gibson G, Pemble C, et al. (2020) “It Is Part of Belonging”: Walking Groups to Promote Social Health amongst People Living with Dementia. Home, Housing and Communities: Foundations for Inclusive Society. 8(3) (doi: 10.17645/si.v8i3.2784).
- Stacy R, Brittain K and Kerr S (2002) Singing for health: an exploration of the issues. Health Education 102(4): pp.156-162 (doi: 10.1108/09654280210434228).
- The King’s Fund (2020) What is social prescribing? [online] Available here.
