An integrated approach to chronic disease prevention acknowledges that focusing on one risk factor at a time may not be effective for some populations.
Risk factors include:
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
- Alcohol misuse
- Poor diet
What you will find
These resources provide Canadian and international information to help you plan programs on integrated approaches to preventing chronic diseases. For more information, please visit the Best Practices section for interventions related to integrated approaches.
Data
A first step to planning a program or policy change on integrated approaches to chronic disease prevention is to understand the topic through surveillance data.
Canadian Data
- Chronic disease infobase Data Cubes, interactive database. Public Health Agency of Canada.
- Chronic disease and injury indicator framework, Public Health Agency of Canada (2014).
- The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada, 2014: Public Health in the Future, Public Health Agency of Canada (2014).
- Health-adjusted life expectancy in Canada: 2012 (PDF document), Report by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), Statistics Canada.
- Primary Health Care in Canada: A Chartbook of selected indicator results, 2016 (PDF document), Canadian Institute for Health Information.
- Chronic diseases related to aging and health promotion and disease prevention (PDF document), House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (2012).
- Rethinking women and healthy living in Canada (PDF document), British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence, and Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health (2013).
Aboriginal data
- Health status of Atlantic First Nations on Reserve (PDF document),Health Canada.
- Health Status of First Nations On Reserve in Atlantic Canada 2015 (PDF document), Health Canada (2016).
- An overview of Aboriginal health in Canada, National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (2013).
- The health of Aboriginal people residing in urban areas (PDF document), National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (2012).
Provincial/territorial data on Chronic Diseases
Alberta
- Interactive health data application, Alberta Health.
- Chronic disease and injury: Projections and reports by various diseases and conditions, Alberta Health.
- Chronic disease prevention evidence table, Alberta region Aboriginal diabetes initiative (PDF document), First Nations Inuit Health, Health Canada (2008).
Manitoba
- Annual statistics 2010-2011 (PDF document), Manitoba Health and Health Information Management.
Northwest Territories
- Northwest Territories health status report, Health and Social Services (2011).
Ontario
- Health, not health care – Changing the conversation (PDF document), 2010 Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
- Enquête québécoise sur les limitations d’activités, les maladies chroniques et le vieillissement (EQLAV) 2010-2011 (French only). Results show that 48% (3.2 million) of the Quebec population 15 yrs and older are living with at least one chronic illness. Institute of Statistics.
- Santéscope: Evolution for Québec: Physical health status (open drop down menu): Chronic diseases, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (2007-2010).
International Data
New Zealand
- New Zealand burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors study, 2006-2016 Ministry of Health (2013).
- New Zealand health survey A continuous survey with annual publications on the health and well-being of New Zealanders.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Pan American Health Organization
United States
- Health data interactive Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
World Health Organization
- WHO global infobase on chronic diseases.
- Promoting health, preventing disease: Is there an economic case? (2013).
- Noncommunicable diseases Country Profiles 2014.
- Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2014.
- Global health risks: Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks (PDF document), (2009).
Government Strategies (Frameworks, Action Plans, etc.)
Canadian Strategies
- A Declaration on prevention and promotion from Canada’s Ministers of Health and Health Promotion/Healthy Living (PDF document).
- Preventing Chronic Disease Strategic Plan 2013-2016, Public Health Agency of Canada.
- Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Diseases – Surveillance Functional Component, Public Health Agency of Canada (2009).
Aboriginal Strategies
- Understanding chronic disease and the role for traditional approaches in Aboriginal communities, National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (2011).
Provincial/Territorial Strategies
Alberta
- Alberta’s strategic approach to wellness (PDF document), Alberta Health (2014).
British Columbia
- Healthy families BC policy framework: A focused approach to chronic disease and injury prevention (PDF document), Ministry of Health (2014).
- Promote, protect, prevent – our health begins here: BC’s guiding framework for Public Health (PDF document), Ministry of Health (2013).
Manitoba
- Healthy together now, Government of Manitoba (2011).
- Chief Provincial Public Health Officer’s report on the health status of Manitobans 2010, Priorities for prevention: Everyone, every place, every day (PDF document).
New Brunswick
- New Brunswick’s wellness strategy 2014-2021: The heart of our future & Wellness strategy framework, Government of New Brunswick (2014).
- Above and beyond together: Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health Strategic Plan 2012-2015.
- A chronic disease prevention and management framework for New Brunswick (PDF document), Ministry of Health (2010).
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
- Building on existing tools to improve chronic disease prevention and screening in primary care (BETTER), Government of NWT.
Nunavut
- Developing healthy communities: A public health strategy for Nunavut 2008-2013 (PDF document), Ministry of Health and Social Service.
Ontario
- Aboriginal healing and wellness strategy, Ministry of Community and Social Services.
- Public Health Ontario Strategic Plan 2014-2019, Public Health Ontario (2014).
- Make no little plans: Ontario’s public health sector strategic plan, Chief Medical Officer of Health (2013).
- Taking action to prevent chronic disease: Recommendations for a healthier Ontario, Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, Public Health Ontario (2012).
Prince Edward Island
- Prince Edward Island strategy for healthy living (PDF document), PEI strategy for Healthy Living Steering Committee.
- Stemming the tide: Health PEI chronic disease prevention and management framework 2013-2018, Department of Health and Wellness.
Quebec
- 2010 Appraisal report of the performance of the Health and Social Services system – Adopting an integrated approach to chronic disease prevention and management: Recommendations, issues and implications: Summary (PDF document), Health and Welfare Commissioner.
- Québec Public Health program 2003-2012 (PDF document), Ministère de la Santé et Services sociaux.
International Strategies
Australia
- Australia National preventative health strategy, Ministry for Health and Ageing (2009).
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Sweden
- Public health priorities in Sweden (PDF document), Government of Sweden.
United States
- Healthy People 2020, United States Government.
- Healthy Self Campaign, The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2015).
- National prevention strategy: America’s plan for better health and wellness (PDF document), United States Government (2011).
World Health Organization
- Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020.
- The economics of promoting health and preventing disease An economic perspective on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. It presents the case for investing prior to the onset of illness, and highlights evidence that addressing risk factors is an efficient use of government money. Interventions to tackle behavioural risk factors are discussed, including programs to counter smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity and poor nutrition (2015).
- NCD Global monitoring framework A global monitoring framework to enable global tracking of progress in preventing and controlling major non-communicable diseases – cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes – and their key risk factors.
Guidance
Canadian Guidance
- A tool for strengthening chronic disease prevention and management: Through dialogue, planning and assessment (PDF document), Canadian Public Health Association (2011).
- Investing in prevention: The economic perspective, Public Health Agency of Canada (2009).
Provincial/Territorial Guidance
British Columbia
- Chronic disease – Model core program paper (PDF document), Government of British Columbia (2010).
International Guidance
United Kingdom
- Health and care integration: Making the case from a Public Health Perspective, Government of United Kingdom (2013).
- Prevention of cardiovascular disease, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2010).
United States
- Power of prevention (PDF document), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009).
World Health Organization
- Guidelines for primary health care in low-resource settings: Cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, chronic respiratory disease (2012).
- Intersectoral action on health: A path for policy makers to implement effective and sustainable action on health (2011).
- Health in all policies: Training manual (2015).
Systematic Reviews of the Research
Selected strong reviews from HealthEvidence.org.
- General health checks in adults for reducing morbidity and mortality from disease: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis, (2012).
- Collaboration between local health and local government agencies for health improvement, (2011).
- Are workplace health promotion programs effective at improving presenteeism in workers? A systematic review and best evidence synthesis of the literature, (2011).
- Lifestyle-focused interventions at the workplace to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review, (2010).
- Outcomes of community health worker interventions, (2009).
Search more systematic reviews.