Doctors and Social Prescribing. Healing through sport, nature, culture and volunteering

From Monday 6 October to Monday 24 November 2025, for seven consecutive Mondays, leading figures from the fields of science and culture will discuss "social prescribing" for health and well-being. The course Cultura e salute, now in its fifth edition, is promoted by the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Università della Svizzera italiana with the IBSA Foundation for Scientific Research and the Culture Division of the City of Lugano. The public lectures will take place in the East Campus Lugano, in Aula Polivalente, from 6:00 pm to 7:45 pm on each of the seven consecutive Mondays.

The course, developed by a scientific committee consisting of Enzo Grossi, Luigi Di Corato, Silvia Misiti, and Jules Hotz, focuses on a rapidly growing practice known as social prescribing. In several countries, family doctors can "prescribe" non-clinical community activities and services to their patients. These activities may include physical exercise, engaging with nature, participating in cultural events, or volunteering. This practice is supported by social mediators and involves collaboration with local institutions and associations. The goal is to improve health and well-being while also reducing social and health inequalities.

By attending all the lectures:

• students of the Master of Medicine will be able to obtain 1 ECTS (optional course) by writing a final report (information on iCorsi)
• PhD students – Faculty of Biomedical Sciences will be able to obtain 0.5 ECTS
• students of the MAS in Family Medicine will be able to obtain 0.5 ECTS
• SGAIM training credits: required for medical specialists
• students of Bachelor's and Master's programmes at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society can obtain 1 ECTS

Evening programme:

Monday, 6 October
Social prescribing: a global overview
Speaker: Julia Hotz, journalist and author of The Connection Cure (USA)
Discussion with: Enzo Grossi, MD, researcher and course coordinator (CH/IT)

Monday, 20 October
Physical activity as a complementary therapy
Speaker: Mandy Zhang, Director of the Singapore Sport & Exercise Medicine Centre, Changi General Hospital (SG)
Discussion with: Ollie Hart, General practitioner and clinical director, Heeley Plus Primary Care Network (UK)

Monday, 27 October
Nature and well-being: biophilia in medicine
Speaker: Enzo Grossi, MD, researcher and course coordinator (CH/IT)
Discussion with: Qing Li, Clinical Professor at Nippon Medical School and President of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine (JP)

Monday, 3 November
Art for the mind and heart
Speaker: Anita Jensen, Associate Professor of Social Medicine and Health Policy, Lund University (SE)
Discussion with: Inga Surgunte, Research Assistant, Latvian Academy of Culture (LV)

Monday, 10 November
Volunteering as a tool for care
Speaker: Bev Taylor, Consultant and former Head of the NHS England Social Prescribing Programme (UK)
Discussion with: Stephen G. Post, Professor of Medicine, Stony Brook University (USA)

Monday, 17 November
Loneliness and social inclusion
Speaker: Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Brigham Young University (USA)
Discussion with: Cristiano Figueiredo, Family doctor and co-founder of Social Prescribing Portugal Network (PT)

Monday, 24 November
A link between training and practice: the Lugano case
Speaker: Jess Bone, Senior Researcher at the Social Biobehavioural Research Group, University College London (UK)
Discussion with: Luca Gabutti, Full Professor and Director of the Institute of Family Medicine, USI (CH)

The lectures will be held in Italian and English, with simultaneous translation for the English talks. The sessions will be recorded and published online at the end of the course.

Full programme: www.culturaesalute.ch – IBSA Foundation