Summary / Key takeaways
Social prescribing enables trusted individuals in clinical and community settings to identify non-medical, health-related social needs and connect people to community-based supports. This approach is increasingly important as structural inequities, such as food insecurity, social isolation, and limited access to resources, are intensified by climate change. Communities experiencing marginalization are disproportionately affected by extreme weather, chronic stress, and loss of access to land and food. Addressing these root causes is essential to improving health outcomes and building climate resilience.
Social and nature prescribing provide person-centred, non-clinical pathways to supports such as peer groups, cultural programs, food initiatives, and nature-based activities. Through collaboration between prescribers, link workers, and patients, these approaches address social determinants of health, strengthen resilience, and reduce isolation. They also support prevention and can decrease reliance on resource-intensive healthcare services by offering effective, lower-carbon alternatives.
Scaling social prescribing requires supportive policy, sustained investment, and cross-sector collaboration. Priorities include integrating social prescribing into health professional education, strengthening the link worker workforce, and expanding community capacity. Advancing nature-based approaches, empowering patients, and measuring impact will support broader adoption, helping to create more equitable, resilient, and climate-conscious systems of care.
Playbook: Social and Nature Prescribing: Considerations for Health and Environment
Suggested Citation:
Chen T, Zahid S, Nowlan J. Social and nature prescribing: Considerations for health and environment. Version 1.0. [Internet]. CASCADES; 2025 [cited DATE]. Available from: https://new.cascadescanada.ca/.
