Social Prescribing in Canada: Coproduction with Communities

Canada is a large country whose complex colonial history, vast geography, federated health system, and sociodemographic diversity affect how social prescribing works in different places and with different people. This chapter provides an overview of how social prescribing is starting to be implemented across Canada – both as a local intervention to improve people’s health and well-being through self-determination and supported referrals, and as a systems intervention to address a fragmented and overburdened health and social services system. While social prescribing is not yet being implemented universally across Canada, the practice is gaining momentum in almost every province and territory. The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, a network that supports people who are involved or interested in social prescribing, is working to support, scale, and spread emerging practices across the country. Challenges include the need to develop a learning health systems approach, with useful indicators that help us learn and improve upon what works best and who benefits most, addressing stakeholder concerns about the role of the health system in addressing social issues, and ensuring sufficient resources and relationships support the community sector at the heart of social prescribing.