Advancing Holistic Community Health

Over the past two years, the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) has collaborated with multisectoral partners and champions ranging from community, healthcare, and academia, as well as participant advisors with lived experiences, to build a shared vision and foundational framework for social prescribing in Canada. Recognizing that similar work has occurred in various forms under various names across the country, our goal was to foster a common understanding while laying the groundwork for the growth and adoption of this structured, supportive, and person-centred approach to bridging health and social care.

As we enter the third year of this journey, we're excited to present the Advancing Holistic Community Health: Co-creating a Foundation for Social Prescribing in Canada report—a reflection on the collective efforts that have brought us to this point. This report highlights the collaborative endeavours, research findings, and shared insights developed over the past two years, all aimed at adapting social prescribing to Canada's unique context. It emphasizes the crucial role of community leadership, dedicated co-creative support, and a person-centered approach in building resilient, interconnected, and equitable health and social care systems.

As we continue to navigate complex challenges in our communities, we hope this report will support the advancement of future initiatives by offering insights and a foundation to continue fostering, learning, integrating, and scaling social prescribing to improve the wellbeing of all in Canada.