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Abbreviation | BCHLA |
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Formation | 2003 |
Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Region served | British Columbia |
Official language | English |
Website | BC Healthy Living Alliance Official Website |
The BC Healthy Living Alliance (BCHLA), formed in 2003, is the largest coalition of health leaders in British Columbia's history. [1] As a non-partisan advocacy group, the BCHLA works with government and holds them accountable to promote wellness and prevent chronic disease.
In 2006, after publishing The Winning Legacy advocacy paper, the Government of BC provided BCHLA with a $25 million grant to implement initiatives across the province that would support the achievement of the targets outlined in the paper. The initiatives, which focus on healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco reduction, and community capacity building are now underway in over 105 communities across British Columbia. As they continue to early 2010, BCHLA is continually working closely with ActNow BC and the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport along with many other community partners.
The Alliance continues its policy work and has developed a discussion paper, Healthy Futures for BC Families, on the social issues that can impede or enhance the healthy of a society. These issues include access to: affordable housing, early childhood development and care, income and food security, and supportive environments.
The Alliance was formed in February 2003 with a mission to lead collaborative actions to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and living smoke-free in order to improve the overall health of British Columbians. [2]
In March 2006, the Alliance received "a one-time grant of $25.2 million to pursue recommendations outlined in their report, "The Winning Legacy - A plan for improving the health of British Columbians by 2010." [3] Health Minister George Abbott had said, "We are supporting programs that promote healthy living and prevent illness in our society. Research tells us that four risk factors are the major causes of our most common chronic diseases. Lifestyle choices about nutrition, exercise, tobacco use and healthy choices during pregnancy can make a real difference in our own health, and in the sustainability of the entire health-care system." [3]
While the Alliance recognizes there is a wide range of chronic diseases, their primary focus is on the common risk factors and underlying determinants that contribute significantly to cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. [2]
To reduce chronic disease in B.C., the Alliance has developed three specific goals:
Currently, the BC Healthy Living Alliance comprises nine member organizations. The first group of major non-governmental organizations that are involved in the prevention of chronic diseases include: The BC Lung Association, Canadian Diabetes Association Pacific, Heart & Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon, and the Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division.
The second group of members is organizations with direct links to local governments and communities. These members are the Union of BC Municipalities and BC Recreation and Parks Association.
Thirdly, BCHLA includes members of key health and wellness professionals. Dietitians of Canada BC Region, BC Pediatric Society, and the Public Health Association of BC are all members of the Alliance.
In addition, the BCHLA has advisory representation from government related bodies including: BC Health Authorities, 2010 Legacies Now, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport, and ActNow BC.
The BC Healthy Living Alliance "advocates for and supports health-promoting policies, environments, programs and services so that British Columbians have opportunities to be healthy." [4] In particular, the BCHLA have written two evidence-based papers.
The B.C. Risk Factor Intervention Plan, which the BCHLA calls The Winning Legacy, was initially presented to Premier Gordon Campbell and the BC Government on March 3, 2005. [4] [5] It is a "plan for improving the health of British Columbians by 2010 by simultaneous improvements in four risk factors of tobacco use, unhealthy weights, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity." [6]
The Winning Legacy explains that much of the chronic disease burden in the province is preventable by addressing these factors. BCHLA estimated that "these risk factors cost the B.C. economy approximately $3.8 billion annually". [7] Caring for British Columbians with acute and chronic health conditions is using up an increasing proportion of government expenditures. This position paper presents 27 recommendations that addressed the aforementioned lifestyle risk factors related to chronic disease. [8] In particular, these recommendations were summarized and divided into the following categories: Regulatory and Economic Interventions, Community-Based Interventions, School-Based Interventions, Workplace-Based Interventions, Clinical Interventions and Management, Specific Populations, and Surveillance, Evaluations, and other Administrative Costs. The Winning Legacy was estimated to cost $1.1 billion over a period of 6 years, which equals $41 per year for each British Columbian. [7]
A series of policy discussion forums were held across the province to discuss the social issues affecting health. The first forum was held on October 2, 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia. [9] The following three regional forums in the Interior, North, and Vancouver Island were held early 2009. The Interior Region discussion took place on February 13, 2009 in Williams Lake, with videoconferencing sites in Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna, and Trail. Prince George was the main location for the March 12 North forum, which also hosted videoconferencing to Burns Lake, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Smithers, Terrace, Prince Rupert, and Queen Charlotte City. [10] The last Healthy Futures for BC Families policy discussion was on March 25, 2009 in the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. [11]
The forums were intended to gain local perspectives from "health, government, academia, business, and Aboriginal communities" [12] regarding the social issues affecting health and to seek solutions to improve these social conditions. Mary Collins, the Director of the BC Healthy Living Alliance Secretariat, said "research indicates access to income, employment, affordable housing, healthy food, education and early childhood development supports have a greater influence on the physical and mental healthy and life expectancy of British Columbians than genetics or any other single factor." [13] In June 2008, Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, stated in a report to Parliament that combating poverty, especially amongst the youth, is key to improving Canadians' physical and mental health. [12]
After gathering information from the different regions across the province, the Alliance will produce their final report in the following months. The final report will be presented to the provincial and federal government, health authorities, and other community leaders. [13]
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity". A variety of definitions have been used for different purposes over time. Health can be promoted by encouraging healthful activities, such as regular physical exercise and adequate sleep, and by reducing or avoiding unhealthful activities or situations, such as smoking or excessive stress. Some factors affecting health are due to individual choices, such as whether to engage in a high-risk behavior, while others are due to structural causes, such as whether the society is arranged in a way that makes it easier or harder for people to get necessary healthcare services. Still, other factors are beyond both individual and group choices, such as genetic disorders.
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention. Disease and disability are affected by environmental factors, genetic predisposition, disease agents, and lifestyle choices, and are dynamic processes which begin before individuals realize they are affected. Disease prevention relies on anticipatory actions that can be categorized as primal, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. It is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly. For example, chronically occurring environmental stressors affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, cumulatively, can harm health. Behavioral factors can also affect a person's health. For example, certain behaviors can, over time, harm or enhance health. Health psychologists take a biopsychosocial approach. In other words, health psychologists understand health to be the product not only of biological processes but also of psychological, behavioral, and social processes.
Behavior change, in context of public health, refers to efforts put in place to change people's personal habits and attitudes, to prevent disease. Behavior change in public health can take place at several levels and is known as social and behavior change (SBC). More and more, efforts focus on prevention of disease to save healthcare care costs. This is particularly important in low and middle income countries, where supply side health interventions have come under increased scrutiny because of the cost.
Population health has been defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. It has been described as consisting of three components. These are "health outcomes, patterns of health determinants, and policies and interventions".
Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health."
Active living is a lifestyle that integrates physical activity into everyday routines, such as walking to the store or biking to work. Active living is not a formalized exercise program or routine, but instead means to incorporate physical activity, which is defined as any form of movement, into everyday life. Active living brings together urban planners, architects, transportation engineers, public health professionals, activists and other professionals to build places that encourage active living and physical activity. One example includes efforts to build sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian crossing signals, and other ways for children to walk safely to and from school, as seen in the Safe Routes to School program. Recreational opportunities close to the home or workplace, walking trails, and bike lanes for transportation also contribute to a more active lifestyle. Active living includes any physical activity or recreation activity and contributes to a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, active living addresses health concerns, such as obesity and chronic disease, by helping people have a physically active lifestyle. Communities that support active living gain health benefits, economic advantages, and improved quality of life.
The social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status. They are the health promoting factors found in one's living and working conditions, rather than individual risk factors that influence the risk for a disease, or vulnerability to disease or injury. The distributions of social determinants are often shaped by public policies that reflect prevailing political ideologies of the area.
A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include diabetes, functional gastrointestinal disorder, eczema, arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Lyme disease, autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders and some viral diseases such as hepatitis C, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and stroke. An illness which is lifelong because it ends in death is a terminal illness. It is possible and not unexpected for an illness to change in definition from terminal to chronic. Diabetes and HIV for example were once terminal yet are now considered chronic due to the availability of insulin for diabetics and daily drug treatment for individuals with HIV which allow these individuals to live while managing symptoms.
Diseases of poverty are diseases that are more prevalent in low-income populations. They include infectious diseases, as well as diseases related to malnutrition and poor health behaviour. Poverty is one of the major social determinants of health. The World Health Report, 2002 states that diseases of poverty account for 45% of the disease burden in the countries with high poverty rate which are preventable or treatable with existing interventions. Diseases of poverty are often co-morbid and ubiquitous with malnutrition. Poverty increases the chances of having these diseases as the deprivation of shelter, safe drinking water, nutritious food, sanitation, and access to health services contributes towards poor health behaviour. At the same time, these diseases act as a barrier for economic growth to affected people and families caring for them which in turn results into increased poverty in the community. These diseases produced in part by poverty are in contrast to diseases of affluence, which are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society.
Workplace wellness, known as 'corporate wellbeing' outside the US, is a broad term used to describe activities, programs, and/or organizational policies designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace. This often involves health education, medical screenings, weight management programs, and onsite fitness programs or facilities. Recent developments in wearable health technology have led to a rise in self-tracking devices as workplace wellness. Other common examples of workplace wellness organizational policies include allowing flex-time for exercise, providing onsite kitchen and eating areas, offering healthy food options in vending machines, holding "walk and talk" meetings, and offering financial and other incentives for participation. Over time, workplace wellness has expanded from single health promotion interventions to describe a larger project intended to create a healthier working environment.
A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others. NCDs may be chronic or acute. Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission.
The Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) is a charitable organisation based in London, UK, and with a global network of participants. Its aim is to reduce the global impact of the epidemic of four major chronic diseases – diabetes, heart disease, lung diseases and some cancers – which are caused by three risk factors: tobacco use, and poor diet and lack of physical activity that lead to obesity. The four chronic diseases together account for over 50% of deaths in the world.
Lifestyle medicine is a branch of medicine focused on preventive healthcare and self-care dealing with research, prevention, and treatment of disorders caused by lifestyle factors and preventable causes of death such as nutrition, physical inactivity, chronic stress, and self-destructive behaviors including the consumption of tobacco products and drug or alcohol abuse.
Chronic, non-communicable diseases account for an estimated 80% of total deaths and 70% of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost in China. Cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are the leading causes of both death and of the burden of disease, and exposure to risk factors is high: more than 300 million men smoke cigarettes and 160 million adults are hypertensive, most of whom are not being treated. An obesity epidemic is imminent, with more than 20% of children aged 7–17 years in big cities now overweight or obese. Rates of death from chronic disease in middle-aged people are higher in China than in some high-income countries.
Healthy community design is planning and designing communities that make it easier for people to live healthy lives. Healthy community design offers important benefits:
Workplace health promotion is the combined efforts of employers, employees, and society to improve the mental and physical health and well-being of people at work. The term workplace health promotion denotes a comprehensive analysis and design of human and organizational work levels with the strategic aim of developing and improving health resources in an enterprise. The World Health Organization has prioritized the workplace as a setting for health promotion because of the large potential audience and influence on all spheres of a person's life. The Luxembourg Declaration provides that health and well-being of employees at work can be achieved through a combination of:
Chronic disease in Northern Ontario is a population health problem. The population in Northern Ontario experiences worse outcomes on a number of important health indicators, including higher rates of chronic disease compared to the population in the rest of Ontario.
Health in All Policies (HiAP) was a term first used in Europe during the Finnish presidency of the European Union (EU), in 2006, with the aim of collaborating across sectors to achieve common goals. It is a strategy to include health considerations in policy making across different sectors that influence health, such as transportation, agriculture, land use, housing, public safety, and education. It reaffirms public health's essential role in addressing policy and structural factors affecting health, as articulated by the Ten Essential Public Health Services, and it has been promoted as an opportunity for the public health sector to engage a broader array of partners.
Malnutrition is a condition that affects bodily capacities of an individual, including growth, pregnancy, lactation, resistance to illness, and cognitive and physical development. Malnutrition is commonly used in reference to undernourishment, or a condition in which an individual's diet does not include sufficient calories and proteins to sustain physiological needs, but it also includes overnourishment, or the consumption of excess calories.