In this episode, Kate Mulligan from the Alliance for Healthier Communities joins host Andrea Bodkin to talk about social prescribing. 

In social prescribing, every primary health care visit – whether to a doctor or nurse practitioner- includes a check in about the social determinants of health, such as housing, food, connection to other people. Where a need is identified, the practitioner refers the client to a support person such as a health promoter, nurse or link worker, who co-creates a plan to address what matters to the client and supports you in taking the initial steps in your plan.

It would be easy for people to think that social prescribing is an “add on” or nice to have program that doesn’t directly address health outcomes. An important part of social prescribing includes measuring and tracking how addressing social needs improves health.  The Alliance has just completed a research project where 11 Community Health Centres and Aboriginal Health Access Centres participated. The research project found that new resources weren’t needed for the initiative, rather health centres re-engineered their existing structures.  Results include a 50% reduction in feelings of loneliness and isolation, an improvement in perceived mental health, and a reduction in primary care visits.

The Alliance is hosting a virtual celebration of social prescribing on May 27th at 12:30 pm. Register for the celebration here. 

Resources

Learn more about social prescribing on the Alliance’s website: https://www.allianceon.org/Social-Prescribing. 

You can also read about the National Health Service (U.K.)’s social prescribing initiative https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/social-prescribing/ and https://www.socialprescribingnetwork.com/