Social Prescribing USA

04/29/2026

It must be that time of year! Here is another great new nature prescribing program, this one in Massachusetts. In this article (which also links to us!), the Boston Globe Media profiles Outdoors Rx, a pilot initiative in Malden, Massachusetts connecting patients from Molina Healthcare to the outdoors. We look forward to following this exciting effort!

A Malden program is testing whether better access to outdoor recreation can improve public health.

04/28/2026

It's almost May, which means...nature prescriptions are in the air! We are so glad to see this great feature in Philadelphia Magazine about our friends at Prescribe Outside Philly, a great program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Read more about this great program below:

What if your primary care physician gave you a script for more time outdoors? Prescribe Outside, a program from CHOP, is doing just that.

04/23/2026

What a nice mention from digital media thought leader and Thrive Global health advocate Arianna Huffington this morning. She shares the article from Axios that we posted earlier this week and gives us and the social prescribing movement a nice shoutout!

Take a walk with friends twice a week. That’s an example of a prescription your doctor might write for you in the future.

Natalie Daher reports in Axios on the rise of social prescribing: doctors sending patients to social experiences.

It makes sense: we know that connection, in addition to our other daily behaviors — food, movement, sleep, and stress management — has a profound impact on our health.

As Daher notes, the U.K. has been the pioneer, with over 5.5 million social prescriptions over five years. In the U.S., several states are piloting programs and the nonprofit Social Prescribing USA has a goal of nationwide access to art or music therapy, dance classes and outdoor activities for every American by 2035.

Daher cites a study by University College London's Daisy Fancourt that found that people who take part in creative activities at least monthly are half as likely to develop depression.

Connection is also great for brain health generally. “Division is the enemy of brain health,” writes Ben Rein, PhD in his recent book Why Brains Need Friends. “The human brain has been shaped through evolution to reward us for connection… I really do think of it like an exercise regimen for the brain.”

It’s more proof that health is also what happens between doctor visits. As Social Prescribing USA co-founder Dr. Alan Siegel put it, “Most of the healing happens in the 80% of people's lives that has nothing to do with health clinics and hospitals.”

And yes, I heartily agree with Daisy Fancourt: “The Greeks realized these things thousands of years ago.”

You can read more here: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/16/health-care-social-prescribing-connection

04/22/2026

More great visibility for social prescribing, particularly in the U.S. This week, Yahoos Health vertical has shared a great overview piece from UUpworthy which catalogs important trends about the "best in humanity." And, we certainly agree: social prescribing is about improving health by enhancing community and social connections, and there is nothing better than that! Read more below:

"Social prescribing" is a wellness trend where doctors write fewer medication prescriptions and recommend nature and community instead.

04/16/2026

Great to see our movement (and us, specifically) in the increasingly popular digital news site, Axios This piece gives a brief overview of increasing global awareness of social prescribing, including the leadership in the U.K. by our good friends at the National Academy for Social Prescribing a mention of the increasing momentum for the field in the U.S. (including a shout out to SPUSA, woo hoo!), and a gift link to recent Bloombergarticle on the topic (see comments below). This is another great sign of the growing awareness of our field and, of course, is the result of all of our collective efforts in prioritizing social connection within medicine.

https://www.axios.com/2026/04/16/health-care-social-prescribing-connection?

Physicians are sending patients to choirs, art studios, walking clubs and lakesides.

04/13/2026

TONIGHT, Monday, April 12th, is our monthly Health Professional Champions group! Every other month,, this group hears from social prescribing implementers from around the country, from college campuses to senior centers, to anchor civic organizations likes YMCAs. Tonight, we will hear from Kayleh Levy-Weller of UJA-Federation of New York' who will discuss her organization's pioneering Social Rx social prescribing model. Come hear more about how the UJA model works from 5PM to 6PM PST. Zoom Link below!

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88571176593?pwd=MNLKFwMA5YXC1LugFlWidJueUrazMW.1

04/01/2026

A terrific piece here in by our friend, Chris Appleton of SocialRx (formerly Art Pharmacy). It focuses on the growing role of social prescribing on America's college campuses. At our Leadership Summit last Fall, nearly everyone agreed that building the infrastructure for social prescribing in the U.S. should focus first on what is working well. It is clear that many efforts in higher education in this country are helping advance social prescribing in the U.S. and will be critical to the movement in the months and years ahead.

Colleges need more mental health and student well-being support--are higher education leaders ready to invest in doing it well?

03/31/2026

We are still in celebration mode from last week's HUGE Social Prescribing Day. We are reviewing all of the great announcements from the day and we remain SO excited about the movement's great momentum in this country and around the World. Along those lines, one of the biggest announcements from the day (beyond our own, see previous post!) came from "across the pond" from our friends at the National Academy for Social Prescribing in the U.K. It has just been named as the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing Policy and Development! This is impactful news for everyone who is involved in social prescribing around the World, including in this country. We will share more on this soon, but wanted to share this significant news with our network!

Around 1 in 5 visits to a primary care doctor are for problems that cannot be addressed clinically – issues such as loneliness, social isolation, financial hardship or inadequate housing that no prescription alone can resolve. Social prescribing is a response to this reality. It connects people to...

03/26/2026

Happy Social Prescribing Day! In honor of the day (along with our free webinar), we are releasing the results from the first-ever U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership Summit! Held last October in New Jersey. Social Prescribing USA held the event to identify key priorities for the next phase of the social prescribing movement in the U.S. Click the link below to find the full report along with a summary of the event, plus interviews with select U.S. social prescribing leaders!

A Report from the First U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership SummitOctober 17, 2025 Building the Future of Social Prescribing in the United States Over the past few years, the global social prescribing movement has made significant strides in the United States. Substantial media attention on the pract...

03/23/2026

This Thursday, March 26th, is International Social Prescribing Day (if you haven't heard!). And Social Prescribing USA plans to celebrate in a BIG way. That day, we will not only have a FREE webinar on arts and health and arts prescribing (see below), but we will be releasing our public report from the first U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership Summit we held late last year in New Jersey. Thanks to so many great people and organizations in the country (and beyond), we really see the movement developing in this country and want to use the energy around this celebration this week to push the movement forward by focusing on select areas and priorities. Please join on Thursday to be part of it (Registration in comments below)!

03/19/2026

Exactly one week to go to International Social Prescribing Day on March 26th. And what better time to congratulate one of our speakers for our FREE webinar that day, Dr. Daisy Fancourt who was named UNESCO Chair for Arts and Global Health! You can read more about this exciting appointment at the link below from UCL and register for our webinar, which focuses on arts and health and arts prescribing at the link in the comments:

Professor Daisy Fancourt (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) has been announced as a new UNESCO Chair in Arts and Global Health.

03/15/2026

We know that Bloomberg news requires a subscription, but we wanted everyone in our network to know that it featured a big article on social prescribing in the U.S., including an interview with our co-founder and Executive Director, Dr. Alan Siegel. The article touches upon many aspects of the global movement, including momentum in the U.S. for the practice.

We were excited to see that the article also mentions the great arts and health research by Social Biobehavioural Research Group's Daisy Fancourt as she (and others) will be part of our upcoming FREE international social prescribing day program on March 26th (link to register below). Find someone who has a subscription to Bloomberg (especially if you are affiliated with a college/university) so you can read the whole piece!

As health care systems around the world come under strain, physicians are turning to a much older form of social medicine.