Mulligan, Kate - Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Kate Mulligan

Email Address(es): kate.mulligan(at)utoronto.ca
Website(s): LinkedIn, Dr. Kate Mulligan, Health System Resilience and the Community Health Capacity Canada Isn't Using
Division(s)/Institute(s): Social & Behavioural Health Sciences Division
Position: Associate Professor
SGS Status: Associate Member

Research Interests

I am an implementation scientist and policy architect interested in how health systems can be redesigned around community and neighbourhood-scale infrastructure. I developed CH-GPS (Community Health Guidance for Policy and Systems), a framework for contextual implementation of community health interventions such as social prescribing across diverse health systems and geographic contexts.

Research Interests:

Implementation science & contextual health systems change
Social prescribing as policy architecture
Frameworks for community health guidance & systems design
Social infrastructure & neighbouring as civic health practice
Health geography & political ecology of health systems
Health equity, determinants of health, community resilience
Community leadership, governance, resilience and self-determination
Health impact, innovation, advocacy and government relations

In the Headlines:

Invitation as Urban Policy: What the Bentway, the High Line, and Madrid Río taught me about health and belonging in public space. Spacing.
If I were mayor, I would create a Department of Neighbouring. Toronto Star.
Could Social Prescribing Help Fight Loneliness? The Rundown TVO.
Securing sovereignty: why defending the care economy is a $100-million bargain. By adopting new standards and social prescribing, Canada can turn an overstretched health system into a strategic reserve. The Hill Times.
Doctors in Montreal can now prescribe their patients tickets to the orchestra. The project is an example of social prescribing, a phenomenon that’s expanding across Canada. CBC As It Happens.
Doctor’s Orders: Get out there and socialize. Business Insider.
Is Toronto’s design bad for our health? How urban spaces affect well-being and how we compare to others. The Toronto Star.
The Paradox of Proximity: Preventing Urban Loneliness. Bloxhub.
Prescribing connection: A new approach to improving student mental health on campuses. University Affairs.
Canada’s survival depends not just on international trade, but also on social infrastructure. The Hill Times.
The Case for Social Prescribing. Maclean’s.
How to make health care better in Canada? We asked 5 experts. Global News.
A Promising Prescription For Older Adults: Social Connection. Health Affairs.
Care in Canada Series: Social Prescribing. CTV’s The Social.
This one simple habit could improve your health and happiness in 2025. Here’s how Toronto Star.
Paramedicine and Social Prescribing. Canadian Paramedicine.
How Social Prescribing Can Help Combat the Winter Blues on Canadian Campuses. DLSPH, University of Toronto.
Why doctor-recommended art classes, fishing trips, and walks in the park could be key to improving health. CKNW Vancouver Weekends with Rob Fai.
When did a social prescription work for you? CBC Ontario Today.
Need a social life? You can get a prescription for that. CBC Metro Morning (starts ~15:50).
Don’t have a family doctor? What if Ontario could give you all the help you need at a ‘health care home’? Toronto Star.
Toronto Metropolitan University’s new Brampton medical school a step toward health equity amid controversy. Brampton Guardian.
The Walrus Talks at Home: Rx Belonging. The Walrus.
Toronto Metropolitan University’s new Brampton medical school a step toward health equity amid controversy. Brampton Guardian.
Social prescribing looks beyond medicine to non-clinical methods of treatment. Broadview Magazine.
How to Fix Canada’s Loneliness Epidemic, According to a Public Health Expert. Best Health
‘A prescription for fun’: How social prescribing is aiming to connect vulnerable Canadians to their communities. The Globe and Mail
Social Prescribing: Global movement puts a process around referring patients to non-clinical and community-based programs and services. CPSO eDialogue
Doctors are slammed with non-medical cases. Some say social prescribing could ease the burden. CBC News
Loneliness as a Health Issue. The Academic Minute
Loneliness is making us physically sick, but social prescribing can treat it. The Conversation Podcast
How can socializing benefit my health? CBC The Dose
We know social connection can make sick people feel better. Is it time to incorporate it into formal recovery plans? Toronto Star

Education & Training History

PhD, Health Geography, McMaster University
M.A., Adult Education and Community Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the University of Toronto
Postgraduate Certificate in Health Journalism, University of Toronto
B Arts Sc., Arts & Science Programme, McMaster University

Appointments

Harkness Fellow, The Commonwealth Fund, Stanford University & CUNY Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership
Founding Scientific Director, Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing
Co-Chair, International Social Prescribing Collaborative
Scientific Advisory Committee, ICES
Board Member, Toronto Board of Health (2018-2023)

External Affiliations

Fellowships and Awards

Inaugural Impact Award, Honourable Mention, Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute for Health Services & Policy Research (CIHR-IHSPR) & Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR)
Harkness Fellowship, the Commonwealth Fund
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 & Healthy Debate
Diversecity Fellowship, CivicAction
Best International Social Prescribing Scheme, International Social Prescribing Conference (team award, Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Ontario Health System Quality and Innovation Award for Excellence in Health Communications (team award, Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing)
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion, Canadian College of Health Leaders (team award, Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Healthy Communities Award, Ontario Provincial Planners’ Institute and Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, (team award, Toronto Public Health)

Consultancies

Healthcare Excellence Canada
Diabetes Canada
Unity Health
Casey House
The Bentway
Canadian Red Cross
National Collaborating Centre for the Determinants of Health
Office of the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada
Pan American Health Organization

Doctoral Students

Iqra Akram, Simon Fraser University
Le-Tien Bhaskar, McMaster University
Tara Chen, University of Waterloo
Arisha Khan, Rhodes Trust, University of Oxford
Jann Houston, OISE/University of Toronto
Linda Manirambona, University of Ottawa
Chinaedu Mbonu, University of Regina
Jianna Quickstad, DLSPH, University of Toronto
Sarah Thach, DLSPH, University of Toronto

Masters Students

Tarek Hussein, Leslie Dan School of Pharmacy, University of Toronto

Mentees

Krystle Amog, IHPME, University of Toronto (2024-2025)
Erica Opoku, Supervisor, Community Development, Region of Peel (2025)

Practicum Students & Research Assistants

Juwairiya Ahmad, McMaster University (2025)
Enyonam Ampo, Western University (2025)
Negar Balouchestani Asli, University of British Columbia (2025)
Samantha Cheng, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (2025)
Syrine Gamra, McMaster University (2025)
Lavania Jeganathan, IHPME, University of Toronto (2024)
Abisha Pathmanathan, UTSC, University of Toronto (2025)
Mastoora Risai, DLSPH, University of Toronto (2024)

Recent Grads

Dr. Nicole D’souza, CIHR Health System Impact Fellow with jack.org (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Dr. Daniel Gan, CIHR Institute of Aging (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Dr. Amanda Mongeon, University of Guelph (PhD)
Dr. Caitlin Muhl, Queen’s University (PhD)
Lavania Jeganathan, IHPME, University of Toronto (Masters)
Andrea Wadman, Simon Fraser University (Masters)
Eleanor Cornish, University of Toronto (MPH Practicum)
Leo Zhou, University of Toronto (MPH Practicum)

Keynotes

Upcoming talks:
- Global Goals: A New Score for the Arts and Public Health. Lincoln Center Presents. New York, USA.
- International Symposium on Healthy Ageing and Community Resilience. National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), Yunlin, Taiwan
Recent talks (2025-2026, selected):
- Economic Club of Canada (Toronto), WHO Regional Office for Europe (Berlin), Federal Reserve Bank of New York, University of Sydney, Bloomberg CityLab (Madrid), International Social Prescribing Conference (Kyoto), New York Academy of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, CA), University of Michigan Institute for Social Prescribing (Ann Arbor, MI), New York City Health + Hospitals, Queen’s University (Kingston, ON), University of Waterloo, The High Line (New York, NY), University of Salzburg (Austria), Urban Libraries Council (Toronto), Vancouver Art Gallery, One Nation One Project (Dallas, TX), Toronto Public Library, Mount Royal University (Calgary, AB), Social Prescribing Leadership Summit (Newark, NJ), Second City & Museum of Toronto, Urban Ravine Summit (Toronto)

Public Reports

Strengthening Community Health Infrastructure for a Resilient, Democratic, and Secure Canada: A Role for Social Prescribing (2025). With CSA Group.

Sparking Change: Collaborating for Social Connection & Belonging in Parks & Greenspaces (2025). With Dr. Nadha Hassen & Park People.

Rx For Social Connection: Public space as a strategy to combat loneliness (2024). With The Bentway & Gehl.

A Healthier Canada: An Analysis of the Potential Economic and Social Impacts of Social Prescribing (2024). With the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, KPMG Canada & the Canadian Red Cross.

The Effects of Social Prescribing for Older Adults: Evidence and Gap Map (2023). With the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and the Campbell Collaboration.

Toolkits & Guides

Community Asset Mapping Guide for Social Prescribing. With Kobisha Rajeswaran, the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, and Peel Public Health.

Measuring Health, Wellbeing, and Equity in Greenspaces: A Toolkit & Common Indicators Framework (2025). With Dr. Nadha Hassen & Park People.

Teaching Social Prescribing: An Educators Guide (2023). With Dr. Nicole D’souza, Safiya Clarke-Mendes, and the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing.

Research Impact & Scholarly Metrics

50+ published and in-press peer-reviewed publications
H-index of 20 and i-10 index of 32
Published in The Lancet Primary Care, International Journal of Integrated Care, BMJ Open, and Canadian Journal of Public Health, among others
Frequent public commentator on health systems and social infrastructure, with appearances in the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, CBC Radio, Health Affairs, Maclean’s, and others.

Scholarly Publications

Mulligan, K. et al. (2026). The Community Health Guidance for Policy and Systems (Community Health GPS) framework: Development and feasibility testing in Canada. SSRN (preprint) https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6555478

Mulligan, K. (2026). Social prescribing and UK austerity. The Lancet Primary Care. 10.1016/j.lanprc.2026.100132

Altman, I., Hassen, N., Gallagher-Ross, A., Uttley, A., and Mulligan, K. (2026). “It’s the first time that I’ve felt like I have a backyard or a neighbourhood while living in this city:” Exploring social connectedness, wellbeing, and public space through an evaluation of The Bentway’s Softer City Season. Canadian Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-026-01171-4 (sharing link: https://rdcu.be/e82Da).

Mulligan, K. & Bloch, G. (2025). Social Prescribing Beyond Social Prescriptions: Moving Social Prescribing from Commodification to Cocreation. International Journal of Integrated Care. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-01-2025-0006

D’souza, N., Biswas, S. & Mulligan, K. (2025). Social Prescribing: A Pragmatic Pathway to Address Loneliness and Mental Health in Canada. Healthcare Quarterly, 28(2), 20–26.

Card, K. G., Gan, D. R. Y., Welch, V., Hébert, P., Nelson, M., Mulligan, K., Hoverman, A. S., Allison, S., & Park, G. (2025). Analysing comfort with primary care discussions and openness to social prescribing as mediators of the associations between loneliness and wellbeing among Canadians aged 55 and older. BMC Primary Care 26(1), 121. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-025-03067-7

Mongeon, A., Deacon, L., Mulligan, K., & Telfah, R. (2025). Post-Normal Science, Post-COVID: Multi-Method Approaches to Actionable Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 16094069251374612.

Yu, C., Muratov, M., Mulligan, K., Welch, V., Nelson, M. L. A., Hebert, P., Biswas, S., Hsiung, S., & Card, K. G. (2025). The importance of trust among older adults throughout the social prescribing pathway: A mixed-methods analysis. International Journal of Community Well-Being. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-025-00268-x

Ashe, M. C., Chudyk, A. M., Lin, M., Iverson, T., Nijjar, G. S., Mortenson, W. B., … & Mulligan, K. (2026). Identifying social prescribing core outcomes using a Delphi approach: Findings and future directions. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada Journal. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 46(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.46.1.02

Jocelle Refol, Shabnam Raufi, J Andrés Delgado-Ron, Kate Mulligan, Taylor G Hill, Cecilia Benoit, Robert J Coplan, Elizabeth C Pinel, Shayna Skakoon-Sparling, Peter J Helm, John L Oliffe, Pete Bombaci, Kiffer G Card (2025). Diverse community perspectives on public health guidelines for social connection: a qualitative study in Canada, Health Promotion International, Volume 40, Issue 4, August 2025, daaf131, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaf131

Muhl, Caitlin, Cornish, Eleanor, Zhou, Xin Ang, Mulligan, Kate, Bayoumi, Imaan, Ashcroft, Rachelle, Ross-White, Amanda, Godfrey, Christina, Social Prescribing for Children and Youth: A Scoping Review, Health & Social Care in the Community, 2025, 5265529, 17 pages, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/526552.

Esfandiari, Elham, Chudyk, Anna M., Mulligan, Kate, Miller, William C., Mortenson, W. Ben, Newton, Christie, Rush, Kathy L., Petrella, Robert J., Ashe, Maureen C., Looking Back and Moving Forward: Exploring Community Connectors’ Experience With Implementing Social Prescribing, Health & Social Care in the Community, 2025, 4355122, 13 pages, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/4355122

Mulligan, K., Card, K. G., & Allison, S. (2024). Social prescribing in Canada: linking the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion with health care’s Quintuple Aim for a collaborative approach to health. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.9.01

Muhl, C., Mulligan, K., Giurca, B. C., Polley, M. J., Bloch, G., Nowak, D. A., … & Husk, K. (2024). Building common understanding: seeking consensus and defining social prescribing across contexts–a collective commentary on a Delphi study. BMC health services research, 24(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11603-x

Yu C, Lail S, Allison S, Biswas S, Hebert P, Hsiung S, Mulligan K, Nelson ML, Saragosa M, Welch V, Card KG. (2024). Social prescribing needs and priorities of older adults in Canada: a qualitative analysis. Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. Sep 1;44(9). https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.9.03

Mulligan, K., Card KG, Allison S. (2024). Social prescribing in Canada: health promotion in action, 50 years after the Lalonde report. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2024;44(6):241-3. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.6.01

Mulligan, K. (2024). Social Prescribing in Canada: Coproduction with Communities. In Social Prescribing Policy, Research and Practice: Transforming Systems and Communities for Improved Health and Wellbeing (pp. 131-145). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Saragosa M, Mulligan K, Hsiung S, Biswas S, Card K, Hébert PC, Welch V, Nelson ML.(2024). A Qualitative Study of National Perspectives on Advancing Social Prescribing Using Co‐Design in Canada. Health Expectations. Aug;27(4):e14144. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.14144

Dougherty, M., Tompkins, T., Zibrowski, E., Cram, J., Ashe, M. C., Bhaskar, L. T., … Mulligan, K. & Kothari, A. (2024). Coproduction in Social Prescribing Initiatives: Protocol for a Scoping Review. JMIR Research Protocols, 13(1), e57062. doi: 10.2196/57062

Ghogomu, E. T., Welch, V., Yaqubi, M., Dewidar, O., Barbeau, V. I., Biswas, S., Card, K., Hsiung, S., Muhl, C., Nelson, M., Salzwedel, D. M., Saragosa, M., Yu, C., Mulligan, K., & Hébert, P. (2024). PROTOCOL: Effects of social prescribing for older adults: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 20, e1382. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1382

Bertotti M, Dias S, Gama A, Herrmann W, Husk K, Khan K, Lee KH, Mulligan K, Polley M, Robinson D, Tierney S. The Present and Future of Social Prescribing. Social Prescribing Policy, Research and Practice: Transforming Systems and Communities for Improved Health and Wellbeing. 2024 Mar 10:161-83.

Muhl, C., Mulligan, K., Bayoumi, I., Ashcroft, R., Ross-White, A. & Godfrey, C. (2024). Social prescribing for children and youth: A scoping review protocol. PLOS One 19(3), e0297535. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297535

Welch, V. A., Ghogomu, E., Dowling, S., Barbeau, V., Al-Zubaidi, A., Beveridge, E., Bondok, M.,Desai, P., Doyle, R., Huang, J., Hussain, T., Jearvis, A. Jahel, F., Madani, L. Choo, Y.W., Yunus, R.M., Tengku, M.T.A.M, Wadwani, A., Al Ameer, A., Ibrahim, R., Allam, S., Haitas, N., Bomze, S., Dahrouge, S., Garcia, E., Holt-Lunstad J., Lasgaard, M., Lim, K. Mulligan, K., Salzwedel, D.M., Qualter, P., Hebert, P., Mikton, C. (2023, July 14). In-person interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness: An evidence and gap map. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1408

Mulligan, K., Hsiung, S., Park, G., Bloch, G., Elliott, T., Stebbins, L., Richter, A. Social Prescribing in Canada: A Tool for Integrating Health and Social Care for Underserved Communities. Healthcare Quarterly 25(4) January 2023: 17-22. doi:10.12927/hcq.2023.27022.

Vine, M. M., Mulligan, K., Harris, R., & Dean, J. L. (2023). The Impact of Health Geography on Public Health Research, Policy, and Practice in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(18), 6735. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20186735

Mongeon, A., Deacon, L., & Mulligan, K. (2023). A Conceptual Framework for Governance of Health and Wellbeing in Rural Communities. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 18(3).

Welch V, Tanjong Ghogomu E, Dowling S, Choo WY, Yunus RM, Mohd TAMT, Haitas N, Bomze S, Dahrouge S, Garcia E, Holt-Lunstad J, Lasgaard M, Lim MH, Mulligan K, Salzwedel DM, Qualter P, Hébert PC, Mikton C. PROTOCOL: In-person interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 22;19(3):e1340. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1340. PMID: 37361556; PMCID: PMC10286723.

Esfandiari E, Chudyk AM, Grover S, Lau EY, Hoppmann C, Mortenson WB, Mulligan K, Newton C, Pauly T, Pitman B, Rush KL, Sakakibara BM, Symes B, Tsuei S, Petrella RJ, Ashe MC. Social Prescribing Outcomes for Trials (SPOT): Protocol for a modified Delphi study on core outcomes. PLoS One. 2023 May 16;18(5):e0285182. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285182. PMID: 37192189; PMCID: PMC10187912.

Muhl, C., Mulligan, K., Bayoumi, I., Ashcroft, R., Godfrey, C. (2023). Establishing Internationally Accepted Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Social Prescribing Through Expert Consensus: A Delphi Study. BMJ Open (accepted June 2023).

Muhl, C., Mulligan, K., Bayoumi, I., Ashcroft, R., Godfrey, C. (2023). Supporting the achievement of global goals for health and wellbeing through social prescribing: defining the concept. Population Medicine, 5(Supplement), A1846. https://doi.org/10.18332/popmed/165302

Muhl, C., Mulligan, K., Bayoumi, I., Ashcroft, R., & Godfrey, C. (2023). Establishing Internationally Accepted Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Social Prescribing Through Expert Consensus: A Delphi Study Protocol. International Journal of Integrated Care, 23(1), 3. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.6984

Ashe, M; Grover, S; Sandhu, P; Nijjar, GS; Percival, A; Chudyk, AM; Liang, J; McArthur, C; Miller, WC; Mortenson, WB; Mulligan, K; Newton, C: Park, G; Pitman, B; Rush, KL; Sakakibara, B; Petrella, J. (2023). Older Adults and Social Prescribing Experience, Outcomes, and Processes: A Meta-Aggregation Systematic Review. Public Health 218: 197-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.02.016

Mulligan, K. 2022. Digital inclusion, online participation and health promotion: Promising practices from community-led participatory journalism. Global Health Promotion. 2022;0(0). doi:10.1177/17579759221126150

Madani, M.T., Madani, L., Ghogomu, E.T., Dahrouge, S., Hébert, P.C., Juando-Prats, C., Mulligan, K. & Welch, V. Is equity considered in systematic reviews of interventions for mitigating social isolation and loneliness in older adults?. BMC Public Health 22, 2241 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14667-8

Percival A, Newton C, Mulligan K, Petrella R, Ashe M. Systematic review of social prescribing and older adults: where to from here? Family Medicine and Community Health 2022;10:e001829. doi: 10.1136/fmch-2022-001829

Morse, DF; Sandhu, S; Mulligan, K; Tierney, S; Polley, P; Chivas, B; Slade, S; Dias, S; Mahtani, K; Wells, L; Wang, H; Zhao, B; de Figueiredo, C; Meijs, JJ; Nam, HK; Lee, KH; Wallace, C; Elliott, M; Mendive, JM; Robinson, D; Palo, M; Herrman, W; Nielsen, RØ; Husk, K. (2022). Global Developments in Social Prescribing. BMJ Global Health 2022;7:e008524.

Mulligan K. 2022. Strengthening community connections: the future of public health is at the neighbourhood scale. Report to the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Bhatti S, Rayner J, Pinto AD, Mulligan K, Cole DC. Using self-determination theory to understand the social prescribing process: a qualitative study. BJGP Open 9 March 2021; BJGPO.2020.0153. DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2020.0153

Public Health Agency of Canada / Canadian Institutes for Health Research 2020. Best Brains Exchange proceedings report: Strengthening the structural determinants of health post-COVID-19.

Mulligan, K., Bhatti, S., Rayner, J., & Hsiung, S. 2019. Social Prescribing: Creating Pathways Towards Better Health and Wellness. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16249

Rayner, J; Muldoon, L; Bayoumi, I; McMurchy, D; Mulligan, K; Tharao, W 2018. Delivering Primary Health Care as Envisioned – A Model of Health and Wellbeing Guiding Community-Governed Primary Care Organizations. Journal of Integrated Care. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-02-2018-0014

Muntaner, Carles

Mosby, Ian

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Muntaner, Carles

Mosby, Ian