Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (OCDPA)

The OCDPA is a coalition of more than 30 health care organizations committed to providing collaborative leadership to support a chronic disease prevention system for Ontario. The alliance was formed in February 2003 to address a growing need, nationally and provincially, for integrated action on the issue of chronic disease prevention.

Recognizing that many chronic diseases originate from common, modifiable risk factors, including smoking, unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, and stress, and risk conditions, including poor education, living in poverty and exposure to environmental contaminants, the Alliance seeks to work with a common frame of reference to promote healthy living and to address the determinants of health necessary to prevent chronic disease in Ontario.

OCDPA in Action…

  • Our collective voice has influenced policies and practices to support chronic disease prevention in Ontario. In 2007, we united to persuade Ontario’s political parties to include chronic disease prevention policies and approaches within their platforms; we have welcomed announcements and provided suggestions for policy development related to the Trans Fats ban in Ontario Schools, the Ministry of Health Promotion’s Childhood Obesity Strategy, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care’s Diabetes Prevention and Management Strategy and the Government of Ontario’s commitment to develop a Poverty Reduction Plan. The OCDPA views these as encouraging, initial steps to address and prevent the burden of chronic disease found in children and adolescents in Ontario.
  • Members collaborate and coordinate activities, including report and resource development, forum sponsorship, and development of positions, in order to support common goals at a provincial level and implement similar practices within their fields of interest.
  • Our collaborative facilitates the exchange, translation and implementation of effective practices, concrete knowledge and emerging research across fields and among researchers and decision-makers in order to advance the progress and ability of the system to prevent and address chronic disease.
  • Read about our latest initiatives and activities.

Impacts

  • Since the establishment of OCDPA in 2003, the Alliance has grown from 9 member organizations to more than 30 as of August 2007. The OCDPA website serves as an invaluable resource to health professionals. Within a year the total number web hits on the OCDPA website was 130,000 and the total number of downloads of OCDPA’s resources was 1,303.
  • The Alliance has provided overviews on the determinants and risk factors for chronic disease development; addressed the economic cost of chronic disease in Canada and identified the priorities of action for government and stakeholder in order to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent chronic disease.
  • The Alliance has developed several policy and practice-based recommendations to address and prevent childhood obesity in Ontario. These recommendations were submitted in July 2008 to the Ministry of Health Promotion, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Children and Youth for review and consideration in the development of a strategy to target childhood obesity in Ontario.