Outdoor Rx is a nature prescription program that was created through a multi-sector partnership in Weld County, Colorado. Both healthcare-focused organizations and community organizations, that are trusted and work closely with residents, can write prescriptions for a myriad of activities to be completed in an outdoor setting. Research shows that spending time in nature, regardless of level of physical activity, can reduce blood pressure, stress level, and rates of depression and lead to good health and wellbeing. Outdoor Resource Guides were designed for each municipality in Weld County and were created to improve access to local outdoor areas.

Active Living workgroup and other community partners interested in promoting and prescribing Outdoor Rx

The activities to promote Outdoor Rx will include sending emails to Thriving Weld partners; providing information on Outdoor Rx via Weld County's social media platforms, website, and on the Thriving Weld website; attending community events to promote Outdoor Rx and conduct outreach; and having Division Directors and staff share the program with their external networks and partners.

Outdoor Rx implementation and evaluation will differ by type of organization; we found that it was essential to create different, but parallel, implementation strategies for healthcare providers and community organizations due to the differences in how providers will interact with patients. For those community organizations that work directly with clients over longer periods of time and have the opportunity to follow-up with clients (referred to as Organized Community Programs) implementation of the Outdoor Rx program will be very similar to that of healthcare providers. However, for those community organizations that don’t work as closely with clients (referred to as General Community Organizations) implementation will focus on the promotion of the Outdoor Rx program.