• Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease, are the leading causes of death in Alberta, and the greatest drain on our health care resources.
• The most common chronic diseases are linked by a few risk factors—unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, tobacco use and substance abuse as well as other risk-taking behaviours.
• As Albertans live longer, and our population ages, it will be important that people enjoy good health as long as possible.
• The Premier’s Advisory Council on Health called on the Government of Alberta to set clear objectives and targets for health for the next ten years and to track progress towards those targets.
• The Framework builds on a foundation of initiatives developed by the Government of Alberta that address health determinants—things that affect our health. These initiatives include the Alberta Child and Youth Initiative, the low Income Review, the Youth Employment Strategy, the Parent Child Literacy Project, the Aboriginal Policy Framework, the Alberta Diabetes Strategy and the Alberta Tobacco Reduction Strategy.
• This Framework for a Healthy Alberta sets outcomes, objectives and targets for government action to promote health and prevent disease and injury to the year 2012.

Outcome 1: Improve healthy behaviours

Objectives:	Targets to 2012:
More Albertans are physically active	Increase the proportion of Albertans who are physically active, from 52% to 62%
More Albertans eat healthy foods	Increase the proportion of Albertans who eat at least 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, from 34% to 50% Increase the proportion of Albertans with a healthy weight (Body Mass Index), from 47% to 55% (Measures for children to be developed)
More Albertans are tobacco free	Reduce the proportion of Albertans who smoke, from 28% to 18% Reduce the proportion of pregnant women who smoke, from 25% to 12%
More Albertans are not abusing alcohol and illegal drugs	Reduce the proportion of Albertans who regularly drink heavily, from 22.5% to 20% Reduce the proportion of women who drink during pregnancy, from 4% to 0%
More Albertans take steps to prevent injury	Increase the proportion of Albertans who use seatbelts, from 69.2% (rural) and 89.3% (urban) to 95% throughout the province Increase the proportion of children who travel in approved child safety seats that are used properly, from 70% to 95% Reduce the mortality rate due to motor vehicle collisions, from 10.7 to 5 per 100,000 people Reduce the mortality rate due to suicide, from 15.2 to 12.3 per 100,000 people Reduce the rate of people hospitalized due to falls, from 366.8 to 300 per 100,000 people Reduce lost time claims, from 3.4 to 2.0 per 100 person-years worked
More Albertans enjoy good mental health	Reduce the proportion of Albertans at risk of depression, from 9.2% to 6% Reduce the proportion of Albertans reporting “quite a lot” of stress, from 26% to 20%
More Albertans are immunized against vaccine preventable diseases	Eliminate measles by 2005 Reduce the rate of children under age 2 with invasive pneumoccocal disease, from 8.8 per 100,000 in 2001 to less than 2.9 per 100,000 in 2005 Reduce the rate of children under age 2 diagnosed with invasive meningococcal disease, from 9.3 per 100,000 in 2001 to less than 2.9 per 100,000 in 2005 Experience no increase in the number of children under age 5 diagnosed with Haemophilus Influenza type b (Hib) Increase the proportion of Alberta seniors who get a flu vaccine, from 67.6% to 75%

Outcome 2: Reduce chronic disease

OBJECTIVES:	TARGETS TO 2012:
Reduce heart disease	Decrease the mortality rate from heart disease, from 175 to 140 per 100,000 people
Reduce cancer	Increase the proportion of women aged 50 to 69 who are screened for breast cancer, from 71% to 80% Reduce the mortality rate for breast cancer, from 24.2 to 22 per 100,000 women Increase the proportion of women aged 18 to 69 who are screened for cervical cancer, from 75.1%to 95% Reduce the mortality rate for cervical cancer, from 2.9 to 1.5 per 100,000 women Reduce the rate of people who get lung cancer, from 56 to 48 per 100,000 people Reduce the mortality rate from prostate cancer (currently 24.4 per 100,000 men)
Reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)	Reduce the mortality rate for COPD, from 29.6 to 20 per 100,000 people
Reduce type 2 diabetes	Reduce the rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes, from 4.5 to 4.1 per 1000 people at risk in the general population and from 9.0 to 8.5 per 1000 people at risk within the First Nations population

Examples of Key Government Actions:

• Promote healthy eating, healthy weight, physical activity and tobacco reduction.

• Promote active living, healthy eating and immunization through the provincial Healthy U information and education campaign, the Alberta Diabetes Strategy, health, physical education and life skills programs in schools and other initiatives.

• Give Albertans information and help to quit using tobacco products through the Alberta Tobacco Reduction Strategy.

• Develop a Traffic Safety Strategy that focuses on occupant restraint, impaired driving, aging drivers, high-risk drivers, and speed and intersection safety.

• Encourage workplace safety through implementation of Workplace Safety 2.0, a joint industry-government strategy to reduce workplace injuries by 40% between 2000 and 2004, and by updating requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations.

• Provide vaccines, administrative funding and support to regional health authorities and develop guidelines and goals for immunization programs.

• Implement province-wide suicide prevention strategies and implement the Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Framework.

• Implement the Alberta Breast Cancer Screening and the Alberta Cervical Cancer Screening Programs.

• Support healthy births and optimal child development through early childhood initiatives.

Supporting Healthy Choices

• The Premier’s Advisory Council on Health also called for consideration of non-financial incentives to help people make healthy choices.

• Incentives can be used to:

  • Strengthen our motivation to make healthier choices (e.g., awareness and information campaigns like Healthy U)

  • Address the difficulties we face in making healthy choices (e.g., community organizations provide sports equipment for children whose families cannot afford it; exercise programs at work)

  • Make it easier for us to make healthy choices (e.g., walking and cycling trails, smoke-free policies)

  • Make it harder for us to make unhealthy choices (e.g. limit where we can buy tobacco; stock school vending machines with healthy food choices)

• There are already many incentives in place in our schools, workplaces and communities. We need to build on these, to give every Albertan the knowledge, skills and opportunities to make healthy choices.

• Creating change will take time, and will involve communities, employers, health organizations, schools and government at all levels.

• The Government of Alberta can support their efforts by:

  • Helping other organizations understand what prevents healthy choices and behaviour change.
  • Providing examples to show how incentives can enhance work already underway to improve health in our schools, workplaces and communities.
  • Encouraging researchers to test new ideas and share the results.
  • Continuing to review new initiatives to encourage safe and healthy workplaces and provide information and resources for employees to remain healthy.
  • Formally recognizing organizations that make an extra effort to improve people’s health.

PARTNERSHIPS: The Framework is an important component of the Alberta Government’s Health Sustainability Initiative and was prepared considering the other cross-ministry initiatives.

The Framework has been developed by the following government departments: Alberta Health and Wellness; Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development; Alberta Children's Services; Alberta Community Development; Alberta Human Resources and Employment; Alberta Learning; Alberta Municipal Affairs; Alberta Seniors as well as the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission; the Alberta Cancer Board; and the Alberta Mental Health Board.

All government departments, along with the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, the Alberta Mental Health Board, the Alberta Cancer Board, health regions, local governments and community organizations will work together to help reach the health targets.

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