Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Kate Mulligan

Research Interests

I am a health geographer, implementation scientist, public artist and policy scholar interested in how health systems, public institutions and communities can better support health, wellbeing, belonging and collective agency. My work examines social prescribing, community health systems, social infrastructure, place-based health, and the relationships between formal systems and community capacity.

I founded the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and developed the Community Health GPS, a framework for adapting and implementing community health interventions across different health systems and geographic contexts. My current work also explores creative civic practice, and installations and prototypes that make social relationships, public systems and everyday forms of collective life more visible. I am particularly interested in art as a form of public inquiry, knowledge mobilization and democratic participation.

Research interests include:

• Health geography and place-based approaches to health
• Implementation science and contextual health-system change
• Social prescribing and community health systems
• Social infrastructure, social connection and belonging
• Public and participatory art
• Creative civic practice and public-space interventions
• Arts-based inquiry, knowledge mobilization and public engagement
• Community capacity, collective agency and self-determination
• Health equity and the social determinants of health
• Public policy, civic institutions and systems design

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• PhD, Health Geography, McMaster University
• MA, Adult Education and Community Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
• Postgraduate Certificate, Health Journalism, University of Toronto
• Bachelor of Arts & Science, Arts & Science Programme, McMaster University

CURRENT APPOINTMENTS AND AFFILIATIONS

• Founder, Department of Neighbouring
• Harkness Senior Fellow, The Commonwealth Fund
• Founding Scientific Director Emerita, Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing
• Co-Chair, International Social Prescribing Collaborative
• Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, ICES
• Former Member, Toronto Board of Health, 2018–23

TEACHING

2026-2027: TRN136Y Canadian Health Policy in the Global Context, Trinity College, University of Toronto

PAST TEACHING

• CHL7001H: Social Prescribing in the City, School of Cities and DLSPH
• CHL4007H: Public Health Advocacy
• CHL5107H: Introduction to Qualitative Research
• CHL5110H: Theory and Practice of Program Evaluation
• CHL5135H: Ecological Public Health
• URB431Y1: Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project, School of Cities
• DLSPH Certificate in Health Journalism

Not currently accepting new graduate students or practicum students.

SELECTED FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

• Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice, The Commonwealth Fund
• IHSPR/CAHSPR Inaugural Impact Award, Honourable Mention, CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research and the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research
• Inaugural Global Inspiration Award, Australian Social Prescribing Institute for Research and Education
• Lori Chow Memorial Award for Excellence in Health Promotion, Health Promotion Ontario
• Pillar of the Pandemic Award, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Closing the Gap Healthcare and Healthy Debate
• DiverseCity Fellowship, CivicAction
• Best International Social Prescribing Scheme, International Social Prescribing Conference — team award
• Ontario Health System Quality and Innovation Award for Excellence in Health Communications — team award
• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, Canadian College of Health Leaders — team award
• Healthy Communities Award, Ontario Professional Planners Institute and Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario — team award

SELECTED POLICY AND ADVISORY COLLABORATIONS

• Healthcare Excellence Canada
• Unity Health Toronto
• The Bentway
• Park People
• Canadian Red Cross
• National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
• Office of the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada
• Pan American Health Organization

SELECTED PUBLIC REPORTS AND RESOURCES

• Strengthening Community Health Infrastructure for a Resilient, Democratic, and Secure Canada: A Role for Social Prescribing. CSA Group, 2025.
  https://www.csagroup.org/article/public-policy/strengthening-community-health-infrastructure-for-a-resilient-democratic-and-secure-canada-a-role-for-social-prescribing/
• Sparking Change: Collaborating for Social Connection and Belonging in Parks and Greenspaces. With Nadha Hassen and Park People, 2025.
  https://parkpeople.ca/
• Rx for Social Connection: Public Space as a Strategy to Combat Loneliness. With The Bentway and Gehl, 2024.
  https://www.thebentway.ca/
• A Healthier Canada: An Analysis of the Potential Economic and Social Impacts of Social Prescribing. With the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, KPMG Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, 2024.
  https://www.socialprescribing.ca/
• The Effects of Social Prescribing for Older Adults: Evidence and Gap Map. With the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and the Campbell Collaboration, 2023.
  https://www.socialprescribing.ca/
• Community Asset Mapping Guide for Social Prescribing. With Kobisha Rajeswaran, the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and Peel Public Health.
  https://www.socialprescribing.ca/
• Measuring Health, Wellbeing, and Equity in Greenspaces: A Toolkit and Common Indicators Framework. With Nadha Hassen and Park People, 2025.
  https://parkpeople.ca/

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Complete publication list: More than 50 published and in-press peer-reviewed publications spanning health geography, implementation, public space, community health, health equity and social prescribing.

SELECTED PUBLIC COMMENTARY

• “If I Were Mayor, I Would Create a Department of Neighbouring.” Toronto Star.
• “Invitation as Urban Policy: What the Bentway, the High Line, and Madrid Río Taught Me About Health and Belonging in Public Space.” Spacing.
• “The Case for Social Prescribing.” Maclean’s.
• “Social Prescribing and UK Austerity.” The Lancet Primary Care.
• “Could Social Prescribing Help Fight Loneliness?” TVO’s The Rundown.
• “How Can Socializing Benefit My Health?” CBC’s The Dose.