Implementation strategies for community interventions to promote well-being and quality of life: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Community interventions can contribute to well-being and quality of life, but their outcomes depend on how they are designed, adapted, coordinated, and sustained. Meaningful participation, connection with local assets, cultural fit, and equity are relevant implementation components. Method: A PRISMA 2020 systematic review of Scopus-indexed studies published from 2021 to 2026 was conducted. Search terms combined community intervention, social prescribing, community-based, wellbeing, quality of life, implementation, coproduction, and participation. Explicit eligibility criteria, structured extraction, and methodological appraisal were applied. Seventeen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and compared according to implementation strategies, barriers, facilitators, and reported outcomes. Results: The most consistent strategies were co-production from the design stage, link-worker or connector roles, cultural and territorial adaptation, intersectoral coordination, and monitoring of participation. Barriers included tokenistic participation, fragmented networks, access difficulties, staff turnover, and unstable funding. Well-being outcomes were more favorable when interventions connected participants with existing community assets and responded to locally identified needs. Heterogeneity in populations and measures limited direct comparisons. Conclusions: Community interventions require meaningful participation, adaptation, and coordination combined with monitoring that distinguishes implementation outcomes from changes in well-being. Sustainability depends on local capacities, intersectoral relationships, and stable resources. Equity should be assessed explicitly so that programs do not disproportionately benefit people who already have easier access to community services.