Advancing holistic models of social prescribing: New evidence from six global studies

Abstract Loneliness is a major social concern with health consequences worldwide for populations across different demographic, cultural, social, economic, geographic, and environmental contexts. In March 2021, we launched the Horizon 2020 European Commission-funded project, ‘Reimagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces (RECETAS)’ to reduce loneliness and promote health-related quality of life. In this presentation, we will present an overview of the different models of social prescribing and then delve into the holistic model, called Friends in Nature, that is group-supported, nature-based, and tested globally across six cities across three continents, including Europe (Barcelona, Helsinki, Marseille, Prague), Australia (Melbourne), and South America (Cuenca). This presentation will set the stage for more in-depth presentations on the cross-site evaluation results, the validated training model to support intervention adoption, implementation and diffusion to health systems worldwide, and new insights from a public health evaluation of the integration, adoption and the implementation of social prescribing models in the Catalan Health System.