Dr. Karen Lee, director of Housing for Health, is an associate professor in the department of medicine at the U of A. Dr. Lee and Shanique Killingbeck, Housing for Health program collaborative coordinator, provided insight into the motivations and future goals of these guidelines. Dr Lee said communities are not necessarily designed to keep people socially connected. “We don’t have policies for all neighborhoods that have playgrounds. We don’t necessarily have access to bike lanes, transit and sometimes even sidewalks,” Dr. Lee said. In Canada, the leading causes of death and disability are a group of diseases called non-communicable diseases (NCDs). They include poor mental health, chronic heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Some key protective factors against NCDs are smoking, moderate drinking, healthy eating, regular exercise, and regular social behavior. While there are policies such as smoke-free building laws and tobacco laws, key protective factors against NCDs are less addressed in government policies, Dr Lee said. At the request of Health Canada, Lee wrote the five Health Guidelines after 12 years working for the New York City Department of Health. There, he created a series of processes where they created partnerships with different departments such as housing, planners, parks and recreation, transportation and others to improve buildings and streets to make them healthier. Lee said the Housing for Health project aims to address NCDs with physical activity, healthy eating and social connection. “In New York, we did that, and in less than a decade, by thinking about neighborhoods and daycares, we were able to improve life expectancy and childhood obesity.” An important aspect of healthy living is nutrition. The Housing for Health project developed a set of guidelines in collaboration with dietitians from Alberta Health Services and Alberta Parks and Recreation. The collaboration helped promote healthy living and distribute these guidelines. Lee said the goal is to make it “easier to be healthy.” “Being less exposed to unhealthy food and drink would do that… we aim to do [public events] so it’s easier for people to make healthier choices.” The project is funded by a Public Health Agency of Canada grant to the Department of Preventive Medicine at the U of A. In addition to the Healthy Food and Drink Guidelines for Public Events, there is a set of Healthy Community Guidelines due to be released in 2023. These guidelines will address all five aspects at neighborhood, site, building and community level. Housing for Health is currently conducting literature reviews on different strategies for these new guidelines for community members, such as students, who are interested in making their neighborhood healthier. They are a broad set of guidelines, based on providing healthier opportunities overall by removing unhealthy options. Pilot studies are currently underway in Canada at three developments in Edmonton, Whitecourt and Leduc. The project hopes to demonstrate that regardless of community, they can improve the neighborhood environment to improve health. This is done through GPS devices and surveys that measure up to a year later whether the health and well-being of participants has improved, compared to existing growth control sites. Students interested in healthy communities can also check out a book by Dr. Lee called Fit Cities. Interested graduate students from any faculty can also check out MED 585, a three-credit course offered and completed within one week during February reading week each year. “Interested students can contact us and get involved by helping to develop and plan these initiatives,” Lee said.
