Social prescribing, allyship, and community engagement for the evolution of health (SPACE for Health)

Social determinants of health, including factors such as social isolation, food insecurity, and income, play a big part in our health. To account for these important social factors, some healthcare organizations have begun to adopt a strategy called social prescribing which involves regularly asking people if they need help with social determinant of health issues and connecting patients with community resources that can help. The small amount of research on social prescribing has generally found that it makes healthcare and patients better but, many healthcare organizations either don’t have or are not satisfied with their current social prescribing program. We will work with several healthcare organizations in stroke, diabetes, and family medicine to improve their current social prescribing programs and measure the impact this has on patient health. This program is expected to improve patient/community health and create a supportive community which are the goals of Compassionate Community Kingston Canada.

Intern: 
Ellen McGarity-Shipley;Madison Lavergne
Faculty Supervisor: 
Rylan Egan
Province: 
Ontario
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