Health-care practitioners have long known the positive impact that community has on well-being, but it is only recently that linking non-medical resources to health care has been recognized and codified as a national practice in Canada. The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) was founded in 2022 to establish a community of practice and to create a research and evidence base for demonstrating the efficacy of this approach at a national level. Through network building, training and accreditation programs, and practical toolkits, CISP has begun to shift health-care policy and practice across the country.  

Social prescribing is a health-care model that enables providers of health care or of social services to refer individuals to community resources and other non-clinical supports in order to improve their health and well-being in a variety of ways. Some provide basic needs in the form of income supplements, housing, and food. Others connect patients with local activities – such as arts organizations, cultural events, or nature outings – creating a sense of belonging and supporting their physical, mental, social and emotional health. The connections to local organizations are facilitated by link workers within the health or community-care sector. The practice is centred on equity and local context, and is adaptable to different cultures, capacities, and needs.        A collective impact initiative backboned by the Canadian Red Cross, CISP was initially supported by a grant from the federal Public Health Agency of Canada’s Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund. This start-up funding allowed CISP to hire staff, identify research gaps, and establish partnerships and a knowledge base as proof of concept. Its early success attracted more funding from the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence and the Walton Trust, among others, to build the infrastructure for scaling its policies and practices nationwide. This process has involved conducting research at the population level to understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions; developing standards for accreditation for health-care workers; and sharing examples of success so communities can learn from each other.  

An important piece of CISP’s work has been validating the effectiveness of existing practices. Many health-care providers already recognize the need to address the social determinants that can contribute to poor health – including loneliness, social isolation, lack of meaningful activity, financial stress, and housing instability – but lack a structured, evidence-supported framework to do so outside of clinical practice. CISP has provided this framework, which has boosted the legitimacy of social prescribing. Social prescribing has now taken root across sectors and jurisdictions, with partners ranging from public libraries and outdoor spaces to universities and hospitals. Some form of it can now be found in every province, in urban, rural, and Indigenous contexts. Manitoba has adopted social prescribing province-wide; British Columbia's Ministry of Health has funded over 100 link workers. The practice has also been incorporated into the national Health Standards Organization’s accreditation standards, and is part of the Veterans Affairs Canada departmental plan.  

The proven efficacy of social prescribing, and support from health-care workers themselves, means CISP now focuses increasingly on meeting demand. It hopes to provide more hands-on operational support going forward. By translating practical insights into an infrastructure for systemic change, CISP is showing that good health doesn’t come just from a clinic but from a whole community.