Promising practice: Addressing older adult loneliness through the Rx Community social prescribing pilot

CAMH developed a new resource highlighting a social prescribing pilot and how health and social service providers can apply lessons learned to their work with older adults.

What you need to know

• The Alliance for Healthier Communities completed a social prescribing pilot in community health centres across Ontario. Social prescribing formally connects health care and community services by having health providers prescribe non-medical activities and supports.

• Clients of the Rx Community pilot reported that there was a 49 percent decrease in their sense of loneliness, a 12 percent improvement in their mental health, and a 16 percent improvement in their sense of community belonging.

• When working with older adults, care providers should acknowledge older adults’ knowledge and expertise, recognize how giving back to the community can be empowering, and actively reach out through multiple forms of communication during periods of isolation.

• A first step to bringing social prescribing to your organization is to complete an asset map of existing resources in the community and intentionally screen clients for their social needs.

Visit the Understanding Mental Health and Well-Being in Later Life CoI to take a look!