December 2010 - Our Voice in Action

Summary of OPHA 2010 Fall Forum

by Michelle Manarina, Project Coordinator, OPHA

In September 2010, the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) hosted a discussion forum entitled, “Taking Action on the Built Environment: Building Healthy Public Policy.” The purpose of the forum was to provide an opportunity for public health and other professionals working on the built environment to discuss how to shape and advance policies in order to create healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable communities. Nearly 300 delegates were in attendance. Participants attended one of the following Think Tank sessions:

  • Improving Access to Recreation in the Built Environment
  • Healthy and Sustainable Transportation Systems: From Vision to Reality
  • Building Access to Healthy Food
  • Building Safe Communities for the Prevention of Injury and Violence
  • Healthy Housing Environments: Access, Equity and Quality

In each session, a facilitator moderated the discussions and used various techniques to capture the ideas and information generated by the participants. Participants were asked to reflect on the following aspects of their topic areas: 1) current practices of participants, 2) successes and challenges experienced when working to address built environment and health issues, 3) policy solutions to address the issues (using a health equity lens), 4) next steps to achieve the desired policy solutions, and 5) strategies for building interdisciplinary collaboration. The themes and recommendations from this report are summarized below. Download the full Proceedings Report [PDF].

Forum Themes

The findings for the five Think Tank sessions were collected, reviewed, and organized into theme areas. An overarching theme seen throughout the findings from each session was the need for upstream changes to address built environment issues that affect residents’ ability to live healthy lives. Upstream changes occur beyond the level of individual awareness, knowledge, and skill development at the level of policy and environmental change. Changes at these levels have a broader impact than programs that target individuals. The ideas generated during the Think Tank sessions reflect the broader socio-cultural, environmental, and policy changes that would result in communities that support healthy lifestyles by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

After reviewing the findings from all five Think Tank sessions, three upstream actions to increase the health and well-being of Ontarians were identified by the authors:

  1. Increase Interdisciplinary Communication and Collaboration
    The need for interdisciplinary collaboration was emphasized in each of the five sessions and was brought up during discussions about successes, barriers, solutions, and next steps. It was emphasized that the complexity and interconnectedness of policy issues related to the built environment and health make it nearly impossible for public health professionals to achieve success by working in isolation.

    Examples of different disciplines and sectors that public health organizations need to seek out and develop collaborating relationships with are: land-use planners, parks and recreation staff, school boards, social services departments, developers, building inspectors, municipal decision makers, media, law enforcement, and environmental assessment companies.
  2. Impact Policy Development at the Local Level
    The second prominent theme, seen throughout the policy solutions discussions, was the need to impact policy development at the local level by becoming involved in the policy process. This includes commenting on local official plans, which are municipal, regional or district council's policies on how land in a community should be used and developed. Participants also recommended that communities examine bylaws and zoning policies, advocate for policies that support healthy living, and oppose those that do not.
  3. Build the Economic Case
    Participants in all five sessions identified the need for the development of an economic case for creating healthier built environments. They emphasized the need to create a better understanding of the economic impact associated with the built environment issues in order to change how disciplines and sectors approach, develop, and implement interventions.

Recommendations

Recommendations for future action to build healthy public policy were based on the forum findings and grouped into three categories: 1) recommendations for all forum participants, 2) recommendations for public health and other local level organizations, and 3) recommendations for OPHA and other provincial organizations.

    Recommendations for all Forum participants:

  • Work upstream on changes to policy and the environment that will make it easier for individuals to live a healthy lifestyle;

  • Strategically connect specific efforts for healthy community development to policy solutions;

  • Advocate for accessible and affordable transportation choices that include public transit and active transportation infrastructure.

    Recommendations for public health and other local level organizations:

  • Comment on municipal, regional, and district official plans and advocate for appropriate bylaws that can impact policy development at the local level;

  • Strengthen ties with those working on sustainable development;

  • Provide the ‘health’ argument for policies that are not usually seen as health-related by conducting Health Impact Assessments.

    Recommendations for OPHA and other provincial-level health organizations:

  • Build public health ‘skills’ around how to participate in policy development and advocate for key issues;

  • Connect professionals from different disciplines with provincial level resources and guidance documents to assist with built environment policy development and advocacy;

  • Address rural, suburban, and urban issues separately;

  • Create more opportunities to bring people together around a key issue of interest those Ontario ministries whose topics impact health and the built environment;

  • OPHA should host a follow-up forum in two years to share the latest resources and evaluations on the built environment and health initiatives.