In recent years, cultural institutions have supported public wellbeing (e.g. increasing offers of activities and volunteering opportunities) and can be considered 'community assets' that are central to social prescribing. Social prescribing aims to empower people to address 'non-medical' challenges (e.g. isolation, anxiety, low mood) that affect how they feel physically and psychologically. The NHS has seen the introduction of link workers, employed to work in GP practices to facilitate social prescribing by connecting people to community assets (e.g. groups, organisations, charities). This might include connections to cultural institutions, which can ameliorate social isolation and give people a focus away from their worries. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting what the cultural sector can offer, at a time when significant mental and/or social consequences of the crisis are anticipated, especially among older people. From the outset, this population was identified as 'at risk' from the condition itself and responses to it, including extreme isolation, especially if unfamiliar with online communication. Our research will explore how cultural institutions adapt to support older people's wellbeing. This will allow us to provide recommendations on being 'referral-ready'[1] cultural institutions for social prescribing for older people in the context of the current pandemic and future ones. We will use a realist approach to explore what works, for whom, why and in what circumstances. We will synthesise existing evidence to develop a programme theory on how cultural institutions might be best mobilised and engaged to support older people's resilience during and after the pandemic. We will refine this programme theory by testing it through further data collection: interviews with older people/cultural institution staff and survey with link workers.

The 'MARCH' Network proposes that Assets for Resilient Communities lie at the heart of Mental Health (M-ARC-H) and is dedicated to advancing research into the impact of these assets in enhancing public mental health and wellbeing, preventing mental illness and supporting those living with mental health conditions. Specifically, it will advance our understanding of the impact of social, cultural and community assets including the arts, culture, heritage, libraries, parks, community gardens, allotments, leisure centres, volunteer associations, social clubs and community groups, of which there are an anticipated 1 million in the UK. The network will bring together a Disciplinary Expert Group of researchers with a Policy Group of major national policy bodies, a Patient Public Involvement Group of national mental health charities, and a Community Engagement Group of national organisations. Across three years, our network will unite research with policy and practice to tackle critical questions of research priorities, methods, and implementation in this field; understand and resolve barriers to mobilising community assets; and provide training and support to the next generation of researchers. Specifically, our network will address questions organised in two core work streams (WS): WS1. Cross-disciplinary research and challenges: (a) What evidence is there, from a cross-disciplinary perspective, for how and why community assets impact on public health and wellbeing and the lives of those living with mental health problems, and where are the gaps for future research? (b) How can we use a cross-disciplinary approach to provide meaningful data to different stakeholders and users? WS2. Equity of engagement and access innovation: (a) Who amongst the UK population, demographically and geographically, currently engages with these programmes and how does participation vary dependent on mental health? (b) What are the current barriers and enablers to engagement at an individual, organisational and policy level and how can we develop innovative approaches to enhance engagement, especially amongst the vulnerable? This research work will be complemented by a rich portfolio of impact, engagement and training activities (see 'Impact Summary'). This network aligns with strategic priorities of the AHRC and ESRC as well as having a secondary relevance to the priorities of the MRC (through its consideration of the role of community assets and social prescribing to support medical approaches to mental health), NERC (through its exploration of the impact of green spaces) and EPSRC (through its focus on the opportunities provided by technology for driving research forwards). It has also been designed in response to the Network Plus Research Agenda. In addition to the objectives already discussed in the prior Je-S section, it is responsive to many of the mental health challenges cited in the agenda. For example, the call specification noted that only 25% of people with mental health problems receive ongoing treatment. Whilst there are recognised economic and resource constraints with delivering sufficient mental health services, this Network proposes to focus on the role that existing community assets could play in providing support to a much wider range of people in the UK including those on waiting lists. As another example, the call specification raised that 70% of children and adolescents with mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at an earlier age. This Network will involve working with policy makers and community organisations to see how research could help overcome barriers to access with the aim of engaging more young people and those who are hard to reach. Overall, the network will seek to understand and support future research into how community assets could be mobilised to encourage more resilient individuals and communities with a greater understanding of and capacity for self-management of mental health.

Getting out and about in nature is good for us. It helps us stay healthy and active, stimulates our brains, keeps us in contact with other people, and brings pleasure and joy to our lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, spending time in the garden or watching nature from the doorstep has helped people cope and feel connected. Older people living with cognitive impairment, and people with young-onset dementia, say that nature helps them in lots of ways. They feel more engaged, more enthusiastic, more hopeful, more resilient and better able to deal with challenges. Their family members agree that getting out and about in nature is helpful. This could be as simple as spending time in a nearby park or garden, or it could be a visit or organised outing to a special place or beauty spot that rekindles past memories. They also say there are things that get in the way and stop them enjoying nature as much as they would like. These include lack of facilities such as seats where you can have a rest, features like awkward steps that make it hard to get around, fear of getting lost due to lack of signs, staff seeming unhelpful, or a sense that older people are unwelcome. We need to remove these barriers and change attitudes. The places where people go to enjoy nature are usually managed by businesses, local councils, social enterprises and charities. We will call them 'providers'. Many providers want to make it easier for older people living with cognitive impairments and their families to access the places they manage, but do not know how. There is little guidance available for providers, because the amount of research so far has been small. Providers need to know how to respond to a growing market. If people are more satisfied with their visit to a particular place, they will tell others and more people will come. This will generate new business. The provider can then add better facilities. It is important that more research is done to help make these changes. A good number of providers and other organisations are keen to work with us on this project. Our research project will ask: What can be done to make outdoor places easier for older people living with cognitive impairment (including people with young-onset dementia) and their family members of all ages to visit? We will do this in 4 stages. We will involve older people (for the purposes of this project, this means older people living with cognitive impairment, including people with young-onset dementia) and their families in all of the stages. We will involve provider organisations in all of the stages as well. Stage 1 We will invite a wide range of people, providers and other organisations to send us information. We will talk to older people about their experiences of getting out and about in nature and what would make this easier. We will talk to providers to find out what works well and what could be improved. We will learn from the research that has already been done. Stage 2 We will work with older people and their families, and with managers and staff from provider organisations, to find ways to help people enjoy getting out and about in nature more. We will come up with a variety of ideas, to allow for different preferences and abilities. Stage 3 We will test these ideas out. We will work with different kinds of providers in different areas to find ways of making the places they run more accessible and welcoming. We will help them make changes. We will find out how well these changes work by talking with the older people who visit and with managers and staff. Stage 4 When we have finished we will pull together everything we have learned and share it with as many people as possible. We will work with older people and providers to develop resources such as guidelines and toolkits, and networks for sharing information. This will allow more people to use the results of our research.

Problems in life that affect how people feel cannot always be fixed with tablets or medication. For example, loneliness can lower people's mood, or worries about money can cause them to feel anxious. This may stop people looking after their health. A way of getting them help with such problems is through social prescribing. Social prescribing involves connecting people to 'community assets' - groups, organisations, services in their local area. Community assets can include exercise and arts classes, volunteering and advice services. Such connections can provide people with social, emotional or practical support. Link workers are a key part of social prescribing. They are employed (by the NHS, local councils or charities) to help people find such support. Older people might benefit from social prescribing. For example, if they have experienced a bereavement or lack purpose in life following retirement. Or they might have concerns about money as the cost of shopping, electricity and gas increases. As part of social prescribing, a link worker might connect an older person to support in the cultural sector; for example, to a dance or singing group, activities run at a museum or volunteering at a local theatre. Our previous research has highlighted that being connected to the cultural sector might: a) distract older people from concerns in life for a short period, b) help them make new friends, c) provide them with a space where they feel safe and welcomed, d) increase their confidence as they gain knowledge or skills through trying new things. Our previous research involved mainly talking to older people who described themselves as 'White British'. This new study will build on and expand what we learnt from the previous research. We will focus on cultural offers and opportunities that have been developed for or with people who may not have English as their first language and/or do not identify as White British. This will allow us to develop recommendations about producing accessible, acceptable and appropriate social prescribing cultural offers for older people [aged 60 and older] from ethnic minority groups. The research will: 1. Identify what is already known about creating cultural activities or events for older people from ethnic minority groups. We will do this by reviewing relevant literature. 2. Map what is provided by the cultural sector in the UK; things that link workers could refer older people from ethnic minority groups to as part of social prescribing. We will do this by contacting a wide range of cultural organisations and asking them to complete a short questionnaire. 3. Explore what we can learn from cultural organisations that have tried to provide cultural offers that appeal to older people from diverse backgrounds. We will do this by spending time at six organisations that complete the questionnaire for the mapping referred to above. They will become our 'cases'. We will watch what happens there. We will also talk to people who work for the organisation or older people from ethnic minority groups engaging with it. We will pick these six cases so they are varied in terms of a) where they are located in the UK, b) groups they aim to attract, c) type of cultural offer provided, d) size of the organisation/operation. We will compare and contrast what we learn from each case. We will explain differences that may arise across these cases. We will bring information collected from these three elements together; a computer programme called NVIVO will help us with this. We will develop an explanation of how, why and when cultural provision that could form part of a social prescription might be beneficial (or not) to the well-being of older people from ethnic minority groups. We will share what we learn via written documents, videos and conference presentations. We will also hold an end of project meeting to talk to interested people about what we have found from the research.