Link workers providing social prescribing and health and social care coordination for people with multimorbidity in socially deprived areas (the LinkMM trial): protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Introduction Link workers are non-health or social care professionals based in primary care who support people to develop and achieve a personalised set of health and social goals by engaging with community resources. Link workers have been piloted in areas of deprivation, but there remains insufficient evidence to support their effectiveness. Multimorbidity is increasing in prevalence, but there are limited evidence-based interventions. This paper presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will test the effectiveness of link workers based in general practices in deprived areas in improving health outcomes for people with multimorbidity.