About this webinar
The World Health Organization defines social prescribing as connecting people to a range of non-clinical services in the community to improve their health and well-being. It builds on the evidence that addressing social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status, social inclusion, housing, and education, is key to improving health outcomes. But how can we use this healthcare approach in a public health setting?
Watch this webinar to hear from social prescribing and public health experts, who discuss how social prescribing can be implemented within a public health context.
Originally live streamed: December 6, 2023
Download the presentation slides and watch the recording here.
Who should attend this webinar?
This webinar is intended for public health professionals and anyone wishing to explore social prescribing in a public health context.
Learning objectives
In this webinar, you will explore:
- the research on social prescribing
- guidelines for using social prescribing
- what social prescribing looks like “on the ground”
- health equity considerations when implementing social prescribing
The presenters
Kiffer G. Card (he/him) is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and Scientific Director for the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health. He received his training as a behavioural epidemiologist, social ecologist, and health services researcher. He leads research focused on multi-level, interdisciplinary public health responses to crises affecting mental health and wellness.
Natasha Beaudin is a Social Prescribing Lead for the Alliance for Healthier Communities. She has worked in the Community Health Centre sector for almost 20 years, most recently as a health promoter at Centretown Community Health Centre in Ottawa. She has worked in food security, smoking cessation, stress reduction, and physical activity, and she leads the social prescribing project for her centre. She chaired the Health Promotion Network of Eastern Ontario for the past few years.
Safiya Clarke-Mendes (she/her) is an Education and Learning Specialist at the Canadian Red Cross. Safiya is a passionate public health professional with expertise in design research methodologies. She has experience in health promotion and research across the public and private sectors in Canada and the Caribbean. Safiya has applied her skills to enable collaboration between diverse stakeholders to address various public health and systems issues, including sexual and reproductive health, chronic disease, and holistic health systems transformation. Taking an intersectional and anti-oppressive approach to research, Safiya works to break down complex health issues and their determinants into actionable insights that reflect community priorities and drive social innovation.
About the organizers
This webinar is presented by the Mental Health Promotion in Public Health Community of Practice, supported by the Evidence Exchange Network (EENet). The Community of Practice brings together public health practitioners from Ontario's 36 public health units working to promote mental health across the lifespan. Its purpose is to connect, share and explore evidence-informed practices and practice-informed evidence related to mental health promotion in public health.
EENet is part of the Knowledge Mobilization portfolio in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH) Provincial System Support Program (PSSP). EENet moves evidence to action to improve programming and inform policy change. Our team works closely with researchers, clinicians, policymakers, system planners, service providers, and people with lived experiences to mobilize knowledge and help people connect.