The Impact of Health-Recreation Partnerships to Create Healthy Communities: Lessons from Alberta Lisa McLaughlin Program Manager – Communities ChooseWell Alberta Recreation and Parks Association

 Provincial not-for-profit, charitable organization  Est  Committed to building healthy citizens, communities, and environments in Alberta through recreation and parks, in collaboration with members and partners

Key Definitions  Health: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being…”  Recreation: “Activities in which an individual chooses to participate in his leisure time…not confined solely to sports and physical recreation programs but includes artistic, creative, cultural, social and intellectual activities.”

Alberta Health-Recreation Partnerships  Communities ChooseWell ( ; 2011-present)  Active Community Strategy (ACS) Initiative ( , ended in 2013)  Both employ a community development approach, working through local leaders to facilitate community-level changes and education/awareness

Communities ChooseWell  ARPA & Alberta Health  Goal: Improve the health of Albertans and foster health-promoting communities through education, building community capacity and engaging in collaborative activities to create environments that support healthy eating and active living.

Communities ChooseWell Model Engage Promotion Registration Toolkits Provincial Challenges Partnerships Support/Empower Newsletters & Information Webinars Seed Funding Resources Forums/workshops Celebrate Awards Success Stories Success Travels book Communities ChooseWell “Eat Right, Be Active” Evaluation

Active Community Strategy Initiative  ARPA & Alberta Health Services  Goal: Get more people more active more often using community engagement to build commitment and a strategy that provides a path to enhanced physical activity. Community owned, evidence informed, sustainable

Active Community Strategy Model

Active Community Strategy Initiative  10 communities ( ) + 4 pilot/mentor communities ( )  Leaders’ retreat, community development planning workshop, webinars, community coaches, $10,000 seed grants for implementation  Linked to existing active living resources

Common Outcomes  Community strategies documented  Build on communities’ priorities and existing plans  Engagement of community members  Enhanced relationship between health, recreation and other sectors - working together to plan and implement Provincial Active Living Integration Group Healthy Food Environments in Community Recreation Settings Network Community level teams/coalitions

Common Outcomes  Tools and resources that can be utilized and adapted by other communities Active Community Strategy Framework & Guidebook ChooseWell Implementation Guide and Healthy Community Scanning Tool  Ongoing collaboration to support communities with implementation  Wide and deep reach into communities

Emerging Health-Recreation Partnerships  Prescription to Get Active 8 Edmonton and Area Primary Care Networks partnering with 22 local recreation facilities Family physicians and health care teams prescribe physical activity to those who would benefit from increased activity Patients choose activity and facility and get free or subsidized access

Benefits of Partnering with Recreation to Improve Health  An effective tool for improving physical, mental and social health  Can help address inequalities and reduce barriers  Well connected to community  Skills in community development  Municipal responsibility offers more flexible, local opportunities for action

Alberta Recreation and Parks Association Groat Road Edmonton, AB T5M 3K6 ph: , fax: Lisa McLaughlin Program Manager – Communities ChooseWell ph: