Prescription to Get Active was created to help motivate local communities and people across the province to become more active. The program helps clinicians support selected patients by prescribing activity, either in a facility or with different outdoor activities. In addition, the South Calgary Primary Care Network has also partnered with a number of local recreational facilities to provide free sessions to patients and help them get started.
This program is intended for all levels of fitness in all age groups so it is never too early or late to start.
Talk to you doctor about getting a Prescription to Get Active. Learn more click here: prescriptiontogetactive.com
More than a year has passed since restrictions were first introduced as an effort to reduce infections from COVID-19. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the mental health of Canadians. Data published by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and UBC indicate that mental health concerns are at a critical point in the second wave of COVID-19. Deterioration of mental health is on the rise since the spring of 2020 as 40% of Canadians report that their mental health has deteriorated since the start of the pandemic (up from 38% in Spring of 2020), and the numbers are even worse for vulnerable populations.
Eighty percent of Canadians looking for mental health support visit their family physician first for help. Unfortunately, family physicians face the choice between directing patients to publicly insured services where wait times are very long, or referring to private care, which may be unaffordable if they do not have private insurance leaving many people left untreated.
The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatment (CANMAT) guidelines recommend exercise as a primary treatment form mild-moderate depression, and in conjunction with other treatments for moderate-severe depression.
At Prescription to Get Active (RxTGA), we have been working diligently during this unprecedented period, to support community mental health initiatives, and to provide tools to our prescribers and their patients to get more people active to prevent and treat mental health issues and many other chronic conditions.
