Chief Medical Officer of Health puts focus on health promotion
In an annual report to Ontario’s legislative assembly, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has called for a new conversation on health focused less on health care, and more on health promotion and chronic disease and injury prevention.
In the December 1 report, Dr. Arlene King states that key determinants of health lie outside the health sector in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. As a result, the health care system is not solely responsible for improving the health of Ontarians, and cross-sectoral strategies are crucial.
The 2010 annual report includes discussion of: the social determinants of health; healthy public policy; health lenses and health impact assessments; and chronic disease prevention. The report also profiles existing strategies and successes such as the Smoke-Free Ontario strategy, the Poverty Reduction Strategy, Road Safety Successes; and municipal initiatives.
For more information see “Health, Not Health Care: Changing the Conversation,”2010 Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario”, December 2011, at www.health.gov.on.ca.
