by: dr. heather dunlap and dr. sue bennett
social interactions are key to children’s and teen’s growth and development. with unprecedented levels of isolation being encountered during the covid pandemic, the widespread effects of seclusion on young people’s mental health has emerged as a health crisis in its own right.
it’s time we start taking the impact of social isolation on child health more seriously.
the vanier social pediatric hub (vsph) is a cheo community-based pediatric hub that cares for inner-city families that face significant barriers when attempting to access health, social and community activities. whether it is income, transportation, or language barrier-related, many children and youth from our hub and beyond miss out on programs that help foster resilience. even prior to the covid pandemic, we were left wondering – what can we as pediatricians do?
a couple of years ago, a potential answer arose: social prescribing (sp).
social prescribing is a movement that originated in the united kingdom with the goal of having healthcare professionals “prescribe” community activities of all kinds to patients to combat the deleterious effects of loneliness. decades of research now exist showing how sp can address the impact of social isolation in adults. here in ontario, the alliance for healthier communities piloted sp initiatives at 11 diverse community health centres, demonstrating that sp improved self-reported mental health in their adult population. very little research, however, has focused on children and youth living in vulnerable situations.