Canadian Journal of Public Health (CJPH) Supplement

Our final act at the HCBD CLASP Rewewal was the completion of a CJPH Supplement dedicated to the work of the HCBD CLASP I partners.  Funded through the HCBD CLASP I Initiative and the Urban Public Health Network (UPHN), this supplement includes a forward by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, a commentary on the Supplement by Dr. Mowat, the former Chair of the UPHN, a post-script which describes the work conducted under the HCBD CLASP Renewal, and eight articles prepared by HCBD CLASP I partners and their research and/or practice partners on:

• A “healthy cities approach” to the built environment;
• The benefits of using scientific knowledge to influence public policy;
• The unmet demand for walkable residential environments in Toronto and Vancouver; 
• A grassroots project that examined the association between neighbourhood deprivation, land-use mix and injury risk to road users in Montreal;
• The application of an evidence-based tool to evaluate the health impacts associated with changes in the built environment in Toronto and Surrey BC;
• The incorporation of health impact considerations into land use development approval processes at Peel Region;
• Building capacity among three health authorities in British Columbia to influence land use and transportation planning processes; and
• Healthy Canada by Design CLASP I as a case study of an inter-sectoral, cross-provincial, built environment initiative.

To access articles in the English version on-line, use this link:  http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/view/5009/2998 .  To download the complete edition, use this link: http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/download/5009/2998.  The French version of the Supplement will be released in the near future. 

HCBD CLASP Renewal – Evaluation Report

The evaluation report prepared on the HCBD CLASP Renewal has now been completed and posted on the HCBD website.  This report is based on: 10 case studies that included interviews with 47 HCBD members and their local stakeholders; on-line surveys with professional planners across Canada in 2011 and 2014; multiple surveys conducted by participants in HCBD webinars and local events; as well as six surveys conducted after peer to peer sessions. 

The report, prepared by Program Evaluation and Beyond, documents the positive impact that the HCBD CLASP Renewal has had on: relationships across and between sectors with a stake in the built environment; the capacity of our partners and their local stakeholders to address health issues through land use and transportation planning processes; and local policies in communities across the country.  The 137-page report and a 3-page Executive Summary can be accessed at: http://hcbd-clasp.com/project-evaluation/.

“… Healthy Canada by Design gave us more confidence and the capacity to invest in it … At the same time, there is a need to develop more specific and concrete tools and competencies: “ (Public health professional)

“We used to see health promotion as one factor among many; after environmental factors, traffic management, health was usually number three or four. It is now seen as the critical decision factor.” (Municipal planner)

“We saw that we could strengthen the City’s position with Public Health being the face of the message… we have a much better sense of how the health side can help us influence municipal policy.” (Municipal planner).

Thanks to our Funders – Health Canada & CPAC 

The HCBD CLASP Initiative officially completed its work on September 30, 2014.  While we are hopeful that the partnership will be resurrected sometime in the future, we would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to Health Canada and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) which provided funding to the Initiative over the last five years through the Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) Program.   

Prepared by Kim Perrotta, former HCBD Knowledge Translation and Communications Lead, Heart and Stroke Foundation