The CRONISOL Project, which has the title “Implementation and validation of a holistic model of social prescription based on the intervention “Friendship in Nature” for people with chronic physical and mental conditions who suffer from loneliness” is one of the 10 projects selected in the HiSS call (Hub for Social and Health Innovation) to become part of the Transform program. In 2023, the call was intended to finance projects that provided 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 to long term. The resolution was made public in November 2023 and the projects were launched on the same month at a welcome ceremony in Terrassa.
You can watch an explanatory video about the project.
The CRONISOL project is carried out through the Institute for Research and Innovation in Life and Health Sciences in Central Catalonia (IRIS-CC), and led from the University of Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic- UCC) by the researchers Laia Briones (ISAMBES research group) and Laura Coll-Planas (M3O research group). From UVic-UCC, Josan Merchan and Montse Masó from the M3O group also participate. The project is carried out together with other institutions that belong to the IRIS-CC such as the Catalan Institute of Health – Central Catalonia (ICS-CC) by the hand of Josep Vidal i Alaball, the Consorci Hospitalari de Vic (CHV) and Santa Creu Hospital Foundation coordinated by Alícia Minaya, the Osona Medical Psychopedagogical Center Foundation (Osonament) under Jaume Cases and the Vic Sud Primary Care Team (EAP Vic Sud) by Marta Dachs. In addition, institutions external to IRIS participate, such as the Consorci d’Osona Acció Social (COSS) under the coordination of Sílvia Madrid and the Institut de Salut Global de Barcelona (IS Global) under the direction of Jill Litt.
CRONISOL is a project aimed at people who suffer from loneliness and are in a chronic situation, either due to physical or mental pathology. The project proposes to work with the “Friendship in Nature” intervention, a group intervention that incorporates: peer support, people 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 comes from the experience of the UVic team with the RECETAS project which is currently being carried out in several urban areas of the province of Barcelona, including the city of Vic. In this project, the “Friendship in Nature” intervention is being tested refered to its effectiveness in alleviating loneliness. CRONISOL goes a 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.