This is Part I of a special issue of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, titled Social prescribing in Canada: An emerging approach to health and well-being.
Editors for this special issue are Kate Mulligan, Kiffer G. Card, and Sandra Allison. It includes an editorial statement, evidence synthesis, original qualitative research, commentary, and an at-a-glance article.
Studies have shown that being active and spending time in nature improves physical and mental resilience, thereby mitigating the negative health impacts associated with climate change.
Key factors such as purposeful activity, health, social support and self-esteem were seen to build individual and community resilience by supporting mental well-being.
Social prescribing initiatives can counter the social determinants of health inequity by offering purposeful activities that encourage social interaction and develop individual and community resources.
Background: Social prescribing assists patients to engage insocial activities and connect to community supports as part of a holistic approach to primary care. Rx: Community was a social prescribing project, implemented within 11 community health centres situated across Ontario, Canada.
With support from the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers Network and the Ivey Foundation, the Greenbelt Foundation and the Alliance for Healthier Communities explore the effects of climate change on youth, women and newcomers.