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‘Social Prescriptions’: A Good RFK Jr. Idea
Exercise, nutrition, art and connection can all help keep people healthy.
By Julia Hotz, WSJ
Nov. 19, 2024 3:17 pm ET
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is wrong about vaccines. But his stated mission—to end chronic disease by treating root causes—is supported by data showing 80% of our health is determined by behavioral, social and environmental factors.
Last month the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved waivers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon allowing Medicaid to cover traditional Native American health practices like dance and music therapy. Earlier this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul amended the state’s Medicaid waiver to connect beneficiaries to nutritional and housing support. Leaders in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Utah have created programs effectively prescribing art, nature and social connection.
The idea is called “social prescriptions”—healthcare referrals for nonmedical, community-based resources and activities. Instead of focusing on “What’s the matter with you?” health workers ask “What matters to you?” and offer a social prescription—sports lessons, art classes, or even food and job support—connected to that answer.
A recent analysis of 14,000 people highlighted the effectiveness of exercise as treatment for depression, while another found nature-based physical activity prevented nearly 13,000 cases of noncommunicable diseases like heart disease and cancer. Large-scale analyses associate arts engagement and volunteering with improved stress management and cognitive functioning in older adults and longevity. And tons of longitudinal data find that strong social connections, the ultimate goal of many social prescriptions, help people live longer. Social prescribing also eases pressure and spending on healthcare by reducing doctor and emergency-room visits, as evidenced already in the U.K., where it is more widely used.
Beyond the data, in my reporting around the world, I’ve seen firsthand how social prescribing can help otherwise hopeless patients feel better. I’ve seen it in people like Frank, whose cycling prescription helped him lose 40 pounds, come off his insulin, and make friends; Akeela, whose prescription for volunteer work helped curb her back pain and depression and find a new sense of purpose; and Glenn, whose prescription for a phone-call buddy helped him overcome loneliness and take steps to manage his own health.
Social prescriptions are no panacea. But if the Trump administration is serious about ending chronic disease, it would be wise to invest in social prescribing as a safe, bipartisan way to create chronic health. Especially as political extremism drives us further apart, social prescribing can reconnect us to each other.
Ms. Hotz is author of “The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging.”
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