History of the Ontario Heart Health Program

The Heart Health Action Program (1990-1996)

Heart health programming began in Ontario in 1990 with the Heart Health Action Program (HHAP). From 1990 to 1996, five communities participated in the demonstration phase of the HHAP in Ontario. This pilot project, funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, built on the learnings from pioneering projects in the United States and Europe. The HHAP provided information about the ‘how-to’s’ for heart health in Ontario, especially with respect to community partnerships, local programming, and provincial supports for community projects. The first to take a community-based approach to cardiovascular disease prevention, these pioneering projects demonstrated that:

• population-wide changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors are possible; and
• programs will come and go – but the essence of sustainable change is community organization.

Ontario Heart Health Program: Phase I (1998-2003)

Building upon the successes and key learnings of the HHAP, the first phase of the Ontario Heart Health Program (OHHP) ran in 37 sites from 1998 to 2003, funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. The OHHP was the first provincial heart health program in Canada. The main intent of the OHHP was to provide a stimulus to develop a sustainable, province-wide infrastructure for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The goal of Phase I was to reduce the prevalence of the three modifiable risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease: smoking, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet.

The OHHP Phase I utilized a comprehensive approach, forming community coalitions, funded through public health agencies, and matching funds via in-kind contributions. Phase I served to develop a viable local infrastructure for primary, population-based prevention of heart disease (and chronic disease prevention). It strengthened public health leadership for heart health and a Chronic Disease Prevention/National Healthy Living Strategy, and contributed to multi-risk factor programming for chronic disease prevention and healthy living.

OHHP -Taking Action for Healthy Living: Phase II (2004-2010)

In 2004, the program evolved into Ontario Heart Health Program -Taking Action for Healthy Living and expanded to a focus on overall chronic disease prevention. The program was funded by the newly formed Ministry of Health Promotion. The 37 community partnerships delivered community-based chronic disease prevention programming across Ontario, expanding their scope of their work to include the development of healthy public policies within schools, work sites, and a variety of community settings.

The goal of the OHHP-Taking Action for Healthy Living (OHHP-TAFHL) was to prevent cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases, such as Type-II diabetes, stroke and some forms of cancer. The OHHP-TAFHL supported communities, in collaboration with a wide range of partners, in implementing programs at the community level that have a primary emphasis on: physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, and use of and exposure to tobacco.

OHHP-TAFHL community partnerships maximized the collective expertise of community partners that included NGOs and the private sector. Each community partnership delivered comprehensive programs to create healthier communities through awareness, environmental supports, policy development, policy implementation and community mobilization.. These initiatives strengthened community action, developed personal skills, created supportive environments, and advocated for healthy public policy.

The Ontario Heart Health Network (1998-2010)

In 1998 the Ontario Heart Health Network (OHHN) was established as a networking body for the 37 Community Partnerships and the more than 2700 community partners engaged in the OHHP. The primary purpose of OHHN was to support the needs of the community partners involved in delivering initiatives under the OHHP (and later the OHHP-TAFHL) funding guidelines. The OHHN facilitated networking, sharing and learning among all those involved in community-based heart health programming.

In March 2010, funding for the OHHP-Taking Action for Healthy Living and the Ontario Heart Health Network ended during the transition to the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport‘s Healthy Communities Fund.