Call for Papers: Social Prescribing in Canada

Guest Editors: Sandra Allison (Island Health Authority), Kiffer Card (Simon Fraser University), Kate Mulligan (University of Toronto)

HPCDP Journal Editors: Robert Geneau and Margaret de Groh (Public Health Agency of Canada)

Social prescribing (SP) is a practical tool for addressing the social determinants of health through supported referrals to community services. This globally spreading intervention aims to promote health and prevent chronic disease by supporting individual and community self-determination and connecting participants to nonclinical supports in their communities, such as food and income support, parks and walking groups, arts and cultural activities or friendly visiting.^{Footnote 1}

Global evidence demonstrates that SP can support individual and population health, build the evidence base on the impacts of social interventions for health promotion and chronic disease prevention and integrate health and social care at the community level.^{Footnote 2} However, while SP practices continue to scale and spread across Canada, and knowledge mobilization is underway through the new Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing,^{Footnote 3} there is relatively little published literature on this novel intervention in Canadian contexts and by Canadian researchers, practitioners and participants.

The objective of this special issue is to identify and share the most current research and practice on SP by and for residents of Canada, particularly those facing inequities in access to health and its social and structural determinants. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice therefore seeks relevant qualitative and quantitative research articles, as well as commentaries, that present new findings, synthesize existing evidence or imagine new ways forward on (for example)

• applications of SP, including those for specific populations or specific types of social interventions;
• policies and systems changes relevant to SP uptake;
• expertise and experiences of SP actors, including participants (patients), health care workers, community organizations and caregivers;
• training, workforce development, collaboration and knowledge mobilization for SP;
• technology, data tracking, evaluation and evidence building in SP; and
• understanding of SP through theoretical frameworks and systems trends.

International submissions will be considered if they include Canadian data, results (e.g. as part of multi-country studies or global comparisons) and/or evidence-based discussion of implications for community or population health in Canada.

Consult the Journal’s website for information on article types and detailed submission guidelines for authors. Kindly refer to this call for papers in your cover letter.

All manuscripts should be submitted using the Journal’s ScholarOne Manuscripts online system. Pre-submission inquiries and questions about suitability or scope can be directed to HPCDP.Journal-Revue.PSPMC@phac-aspc.gc.ca.

Submission deadline: July 31, 2023.

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