Heather Deegan is passionate about Healthy Alberta Communities and the opportunity to get grass roots community involvement. “It is so exciting to be on the wave of partnership development and community engagement to address chronic disease prevention,” says Heather, Project Coordinator of Healthy Alberta Communities. “This project is all about working with communities and ensuring that community people drive what goes on in their community.”

Healthy Alberta Communities is building on the work of the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Keep Your Body in Check program and the Healthy U campaign of Alberta Health and Wellness. It is funded for three years by a $3 million grant from Alberta Health and Wellness. The three main goals of the project are:

to develop knowledge and skills in community members so they are able to tackle root causes of chronic diseases.
to offer community-driven health promotion programs that make healthy choices easier for people.
to find the “preventive dose” – delivering the right health promotion strategy, in the right amount, and reaching the right number of people – to reduce chronic disease in Alberta.
Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung disease and certain types of cancer are the most common chronic diseases. All of these diseases are preventable and are linked to risk factors such as tobacco use, poor diet and a lack of exercise. Evidence shows that programs aimed at reducing these risks will help to prevent chronic diseases.

Healthy Alberta Communities is running in three Alberta Communities: Edmonton-Norwood, St. Paul/Bonnyville, and Medicine Hat. As Heather states, “All three communities are very different so the interventions will all look very different. One community may identify the need to strengthen social supports, while another may choose to make walking trails safer.” The Community Coordinators -- one in each community -- are busy gathering information and building relationships in their respective communities.

The Alberta Healthy Living Framework guides the work of the project. According to Heather, “Healthy Alberta Communities puts into practice the Alberta Healthy Living Network’s framework. We are looking at existing community programs and activities, what’s working, what are the strengths and gaps, and what needs to be done to make healthy choices easier.”  Work will be done in each community to remove the barriers that prevent people from making healthy lifestyle choices. The project will examine health and behaviour changes in community members as well as the process of change in each of the communities.

Links
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Healthy U
Canadian Diabetes Association