With the aim to help people who suffer from loneliness and are in a chronic situation, whether due to physical or mental pathology, it will be launched the CRONISOL project. It is led by the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC) and channeled through the Institute for Research and Innovation in Life and Health Sciences in Central Catalonia (IRIS-CC).
The project is led by UVIC-UCC researchers Laia Briones, from the research group Innovation in Mental Health and Social Welfare (ISaMBeS) and Laura Coll-Planas, from the research group Methodology, Methods, Models and Outcomes of Health and Social Sciences (MɜO). Josan Merchan and Montse Masó, also researchers from the MɜO group, participate in the project.
The CRONISOL project “Implementation and validation of a holistic model of social prescription based on the ‘Friendship in Nature’ intervention for people with chronic physical and mental illnesses who suffer from loneliness” is one of the 10 projects selected in the call for the HISS (Social and Health Innovation Hub) to become part of the Transform program.
This year, the HISS call finances projects that provide an innovative solution for unwanted loneliness. The aid consists of a financial endowment and specialized advice to be able to carry out the project in the medium-long term. The resolution was made public last November 10th and the projects were launched on Monday 27th November at a ceremony in Terrassa.
The power of nature
The CRONISOL project proposes to work with the “Friendship in Nature” intervention, a group intervention that incorporates, as key factors, peer support, empowerment and the therapeutic potential of natural environments. The intervention is intended to be carried out based on a new holistic model of social prescription where the user is directly linked to the group activity. The idea stems from the experience of the UVic team with the RECETAS project which is currently being carried out in several urban areas of the Barcelona region, including the city of Vic.
Is in this project where the “Friendship in Nature” intervention has been designed and its effectiveness in alleviating loneliness is being tested. CRONISOL goes one step further and creates specific groups for people with chronic conditions, in order to facilitate their participation in group activities and outings in nature and, at the same time, improve their knowledge and connection to the community’s natural resources .
CRONISOL is carried out together with other institutions that belong to IRIS-CC: the Catalan Institute of Health – Central Catalonia (ICS-CC), with Josep Vidal Alaball; the Consorci Hospitalari de Vic (CHV) and the Santa Creu Hospital Foundation, coordinated by Alícia Minaya; the Osona Psychopedagogical Medical Center Foundation (Osonament) with Jaume Cases at the head; and the Vic Sud Primary Care Team (EAP Vic Sud) with Marta Dachs. In addition, it has the participation of external institutions: the Consorci d’Osona Acció Social (COSS), under the coordination of Sílvia Madrid, and the Global Health Institute of Barcelona (IS Global), under the direction of Jill Lit.
The TECSAM network, of which the UVic-UCC ISaMBeS research group is part, supports the development of the project.