Following up
Engaging communities to prevent chronic disease
Story by Tara Narwani/Photo by Dustin Delfs
Thirty years ago the task of significantly reducing smoking rates in the Canadian population might have seemed an impossible one. Policy initiatives such as mandatory smoke-free spaces and increased taxes on tobacco, however, have achieved that very result. The key to success was recognizing that changes at a societal level could affect the health of the individual.
Using a similar approach, AHFMR Health Senior Scholar Dr. Kim Raine is tackling the problem of rising rates of chronic diseases. Raine is co-director of Healthy Alberta Communities, a three-year project that receives funding from Alberta Health and Wellness. The project develops community-based resources that can overcome barriers to healthy lifestyle decisions. Its goal is to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, through environmental changes—changes designed to promote increased levels of physical activity and better nutrition. The project researchers are working with four communities in the province: Edmonton-Norwood, Medicine Hat, St. Paul, and Bonnyville.
In 2005 Dr. Raine and her team began compiling data on the resources for health promotion available in each of these communities "For example, we wanted to know if there were safe places to walk, or places to buy healthy, affordable food," Raine explains. Working with community leaders, including mayors and businesspeople, Healthy Alberta Communities established a set of priorities to guide community development.
In Medicine Hat, for example, Healthy Alberta Communities worked with the local health region to extend the scope of community gardening. Now 60 new garden plots allow individuals and families to grow their own fresh fruit and vegetables. The project also helped the city to link up its trail systems, so as to promote more active forms of travel, such as cycling and walking.
In March 2009 Dr. Raine's team will conduct phone surveys to collect information on attitudes and behaviours in the communities. They will also examine health data collected at local clinics. Until recently the team was faced with a time frame that might have been too short for its purposes; but fortunately it has secured funding until 2012.
As the anti-smoking campaigns demonstrate, it takes time for projects like this to show their impact on health. But Dr. Raine will not be discouraged. "I believe the only way that we can stem the tide of increasing chronic diseases is to change the environment: to make the healthy choice the easy choice."