The program committee for Connected for Health: The Inaugural U.S. Social Prescribing Conference—to be held March 24-26, 2027 in Ann Arbor, Michigan—invites proposals for presentations. We hope to feature a broad variety of voices, including researchers and practitioners, exploring the implementation and impact of non-clinical activities (particularly in the arts, nature, social connection, and civic involvement/service) on human health and well-being. We are planning sessions including reports on current programs and research findings, lightning talks on research in progress, and workshops on particular programs or protocols that will contribute to the base of knowledge on social prescribing in the U.S. and around the World.

Submission due on Monday, October 26, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PT. A submission form will be posted here by October 12th.

Who should submit a presentation or poster?

The conference is open to all, including researchers, scholars, implementers, program facilitators, practitioners (artists or creative professionals), civic, institutional, and community leaders, and policymakers, social workers, public health workers and other health professionals who are either implementing social prescribing or considering its importance in their practice.

We are seeking proposals that creatively explore the following questions:

• What does the evidence tell us about the health impacts of non-clinical activities, such as arts, nature, movement, and social connection — and where are the gaps?

• How can social prescribing be effectively implemented across a range of health care and community settings, specifically in the U.S.?

• What partnerships across health systems, community organizations, educational and other civic institutions, government, and philanthropy are needed to expand social prescribing at scale?

• What can the U.S. field learn from established international social prescribing models, practices, and practitioners?

Topics of Interest:

• Research and assessment of social prescribing programs that are focused on measuring outcomes (short and long term)

• The role of the link worker in U.S. healthcare

• Evidence, tools, and programs that inspire healthcare professionals and those in their care to engage in social prescribing

• Scaling social prescribing work to build pilot efforts into durable and sustained programs

• Integrating all facets of social prescribing (campus-based, hospital-based, state-based)

• Population health for specific phases of life (youth, students, workers, elders)

• Social prescribing programs that utilize art, nature, volunteer service, sports/movement, food and culture

• Digital tools that support social needs screening and referral procedures for social prescribing

• Community-led approaches and social infrastructure in support of social prescribing

• Indigenous and ethnocultural approaches to “culture as medicine”

• Health equity-based, antiracist, and/or disability justice approaches to SP programs, considerations for SP among marginalized populations 

• International projects that will provide context for United States social prescribing practitioners

Presentation Formats:

1. Presentations (60 min.): 45-minute presentations plus 15 minutes of discussion. Introducing a program, experiential activity, evidence-based practice or research study related to social prescribing. 

2. Lightning talks (15 min.): 10-minute presentations with an additional 5 minutes of Q&A. Designed to share key insights, innovative ideas, research projects, or research findings in a concise and engaging format. 

3. Workshops (90 min.): Audience is led through a process to advance their own research or implementation goals, using new tools, concepts, ideas, or approaches.

4. Posters: Share a poster summarizing a research study or program related to social prescribing, to be highlighted during a poster session. Each presenter will have an easel and a 30" x 40" poster board for mounting their poster. 

Overarching Conference Goals Include:

1.Strengthen networks and leadership within the field. 

Build cross-sector relationships among health professionals, implementers, researchers, community leaders, and other key groups and to celebrate champions advancing the field.

2. Showcase evidence, innovation, and expansion opportunities.  

Highlight research on the health impacts of arts, nature, civic engagement, and other forms of social connection while critically exploring the opportunities to expand social prescribing through referrals from a range of health settings and health care professionals.

3. Mobilize resources and catalyze collective action.  

Examine opportunities and challenges for expanding social prescribing throughout the U.S., and to build additional momentum for the field

4. Advance the U.S. social prescribing field through global learning.  

Connect U.S. and international practitioners and researchers to exchange evidence, best practices, practical tools, and lessons from established social prescribing initiatives.

Submission Process

Submit applications online by October 26, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PT.  If you have more than one presenter, the lead presenter should submit the proposal for the entire group, including all co-presenters. The application should include a summary of your presentation in 350 words or fewer. Your summary must contain:

• An overview of the presentation content and format

• Clearly defined learning objectives

• Your intended audience

• A list of all speakers and brief biographies for each  

• Disclosure of AI in the creation of any part of the proposal 

The link to submit will be posted on this page by October 12th, 2026.