Teaching Social Prescribing:
An Educators Guide

This social prescribing course guide provides a comprehensive foundation for educators to develop a course on social prescribing, an evolving and increasingly recognized model that is being adopted in health and community care. Educators can play a pivotal role in shaping this model by providing students with the tools for critical analysis and engagement with innovative health and well-being solutions. 

Social prescribing marks a paradigm shift towards a holistic, integrated approach to health that emphasizes community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. As educators facilitate this course, they can inspire conversations on public health policy and practice, underscoring how social prescribing can drive systemic change, diminish healthcare disparities, and promote health equity.

Teaching Social Prescribing: An Educator’s Guide is an original resource developed by the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP), authored by Dr. Nicole D’souza, PhD and edited by Safiya Clarke-Mendes, MPH. This guide evolved from the foundational work of Dr. Kate Mulligan’s first-of-its-kind course entitled “Social Prescribing in the City”, offered in summer 2023 through the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) in collaboration with and funded by the School of Cities (SOC). 



This guide further benefited from the thoughtful review and suggestions from Dr. Alayne Adams (McGill University), Dr. Kiffer Card (Simon Fraser University), Dr. Meghan MacGillivray (St. Francis Xavier University) and Dr. Kate Mulligan (University of Toronto).