Social Prescribing in Canada
The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing
https://www.socialprescribing.ca/
The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) is a new national hub to link people and share practices that connect people to community-based supports and services that can help improve their health and wellbeing. We are committed to building and celebrating social prescribing that prioritizes health equity, community leadership, and collaboration.
Bridgeable – Social Prescribing, a holistic approach to healthcare and improving the well-being of Canadians.
The Canadian Red Cross recently received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to provide infrastructure for the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP). In collaboration with multi-sectoral stakeholders, CISP has begun a two-year project to create a national framework for social prescribing. As the initial phase of this project, Bridgeable was tasked with understanding the current state of social prescribing in Canada.
Ontario Alliance for Healthier Communities
https://www.allianceon.org/Social-Prescribing
Social Prescribing is a holistic approach to healthcare that brings together the social and medical models of health and wellness. It provides a formal pathway for health providers to address the diverse determinants of health, using the familiar and trusted process of writing a prescription. Social prescribing bridges the gap between clinical and social care by referring patients to local, non-clinical services that are chosen according to the client’s interests, goals, and gifts. It allows doctors, nurse practitioners, and inter-professional health providers to formally refer patients through to community-based programs. It empowers clients to improve their health by developing new skills participating in meaningful activities, and becoming more connected to their communities. What does a social prescription look like? It could be participating in an exercise group, receiving a Good Food Box to support food security, taking an art or dance class, joining a bereavement network, getting one’s hands dirty in a community garden, exploring a local hiking trail with a group of peers, volunteering to visit older adults in the communities and much more. Health equity is a cornerstone of effective social prescribing. It is not enough to simply refer a client to a recreational program or encourage them to visit an art gallery. Successfully implementing a social prescribing program means removing the barriers clients experience to doing these things. These barriers may be economic, geographical, interpersonal, or psychological. Social prescribing is about listening deeply, providing necessary supports, and empowering people to be co-creators in improving their own health and wellbeing.
For a quick overview, see our new infographic that shows the deep impacts of social prescribing on health and wellbeing with results from our Rx: Community pilot project and internationally!
Canadian Social Prescribing Link Worker Competency Framework
https://corealberta.ca/resources/resource-canadian-social-prescribing-link-worker-competency-domains
Supporting a cohesive, Canada-wide approach to social prescribing. The Link Worker competency domains are categorized according to the Link Workers role in supporting the individual client, engaging with community stakeholders and performing administrative functions that enhance sustainability of social prescribing practices.