OPHA partners with a network of organizations across Ontario to fight chronic disease.

Chronic Disease Prevention (CDP) Projects

The OCDPA is a coalition of more than 30 health-related organizations, programs and groups committed to provide collaborative leadership for a comprehensive chronic disease prevention system in Ontario. The alliance was formed in February 2003 to address a growing need for integrated action on the issue of chronic disease prevention.

Recognizing that many chronic diseases originate from common, modifiable risk factors (such as smoking, unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol drinking, and poor mental health), and risk conditions (such as poor education, living in poverty and exposure to environmental contaminants), the Alliance work to promote healthy living and to address the determinants of health necessary to prevent chronic disease in Ontario.

Common Messages

The Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (OCDPA), in consultation with external experts, has developed messages for use by individuals, groups and organizations to focus attention and promote collective action on chronic disease prevention issues and to improve the health of Ontarians. The evidence-informed messages address the following chronic disease risk factors:

  • High-Risk Alcohol Consumption
  • Physical Inactivity
  • Poor Mental Health
  • Tobacco Use/Exposure
  • Unhealthy Eating

Documents which support the use of the evidence-informed messages are now available on the OCDPA website. The documents provide: context to the project; background on the risk factor and chronic disease; overview of evidence which supports the messages; and references.

Mental Health and Chronic Disease Prevention

On February 6, 2009, the OCDPA, in partnership with its members, the Canadian Mental Health Association - Ontario Division and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, hosted a Systems Think Tank on Mental Health and Chronic Disease Prevention: Moving Forward to:

  • Enhance the capacity of the chronic disease prevention system;
  • Integrate mental health promotion into current and future work within the system;
  • Identify opportunities for collaboration.

As a follow-up, the OCDPA developed a vision for mental health and chronic disease prevention. In addition, to help advance mental health promotion, the OCDPA Mental Health Workgroup has compiled ideas from OCDPA membership organizations on how an organization might promote positive mental health.

A Joint CPCHE-OCDPA Initiative on Early Environmental Exposures and Chronic Disease Prevention in Ontario

The Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE) and the OCDPA are collaborating on a two-year joint initiative on early environmental exposures and chronic disease prevention in Ontario, with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The project will build the relationship between the children’s environmental health sector (CPCHE) and the chronic disease prevention sector (OCDPA) in support of positive changes, in policy and programming, to assist in the prevention of chronic diseases associated with early exposures to toxic substances in the environment or in consumer products. The interest of the networks to collaborate on this joint initiative is in recognition of the potentially important role that early exposures can have in the development of chronic disease.

OCDPA: Recent Accomplishments

In 2009, the OCDPA: