Creating Healthy Communities through Program Delivery, Partnerships and Public Policy Medhat Mahdy President, YMCA Ontario President & CEO, YMCA of Greater Toronto Presentation to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) November 14, 2013
YMCAs IN ONTARIO • Federation of 21 YMCA and YMCA-YWCA in Ontario with a vision to strengthen the foundation of communities. • Serves more than 1.3 million people, including 863,668 children, teens and young adults in 125 communities across Ontario. • The reach of the YMCA includes:
48,000 children in YMCA Child
Care
200,000 People served
in YMCA Employment and Training
529,912
Participants in
YMCA Health & Fitness
15,506 Volunteers contributed
787,778 volunteer
hours
451,517 People
served in YMCA
Community Initiatives
9,552
Employees
Leading employer of
youth
80,144
Children and Youth in
YMCA Camps
58,481
Participants in YMCA Global
Initiatives
YMCA OF GREATER TORONTO
• Building Healthy Communities for 160 years. • As the 5th largest charity in Canada, our Strategic Plan Strong Start Great Future lays out our vision that our communities will be home to the healthiest children, teens and young adults. • Our vision rests on the three pillars of Program Delivery, Partnerships and Public Policy.
January 2012: Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care released with commitment to aggressively take on the challenge to reduce childhood obesity by 20 per cent over five years. May 2012: Healthy Kids Panel announced • Panel was a diverse group, comprised of 18 content area and strategy experts, health care leaders, not-for-profit and business leaders. May-December 2012: Panel carried out its work. March 2013: Panel’s report, No Time To Wait: The Healthy Kids Strategy, was released.
HEALTHY KIDS PANEL FORMATION
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We identified that engagement, input and diverse perspectives would help to inform our report and discussions Submissions from the Public: • 93 submissions from members of the public and organizations Thought Leader Presentations: • 19 thought leaders invited to make presentations and engage in a discussion with the Panel Associations/Organizations Meetings: • The co-chairs and members met individually with various associations and organizations representing the
food and hospitality industries and the medical and public health sectors to name a few Parent Survey: • 2000 responses received to a survey of Ontario parents and caregivers Parent and Youth Focus Groups: • Held focus groups in the Greater Toronto Area and Sudbury to provide insights into the lived experience
of parents • 10 focus groups were conducted by the Students Commission of Canada on behalf of the Panel to gather
input from children and youth about their health Supporting Research: • Research primers by Public Health Ontario underpinned the work of the Panel
WE SOUGHT A DIVERSITY OF VIEWS
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WE ENGAGED WITH PURPOSE
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Paternal/maternal overweight/obesity
Parental diet and physical activity
Built environment Genetic
factors
Short sleep duration
Maternal diabetes
Large birth weight
Maternal nutrition
In utero growth restriction
Maternal smoking
Rapid growth catch up
Breastfeeding/ infant feeding
Unhealthy food and beverages
Marketing/ advertising
Neglect/ abuse
Food insecurity
Food prices
Physical Inactivity / Sedentary
TV viewing
Low SES/ education
Overweight and obesity in
children
Source: Public Health Ontario, “Evidence Primer for Childhood Obesity”, 2012
WE HEARD THAT WE MUST ACT COLLECTIVELY
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Parents • Told us they see themselves as role models for their children Youth • Said they want to be part of shaping their own health and helping their peers Community • Parents and youth recognized we need action at the community/organizational and societal level as they all have an influence on child health:
• Child care providers • Schools • Health care providers • Food Industry • Media • Non-government organizations • All levels of government
WE MADE BOLD RECOMMENDATIONS: FOCUS: CREATE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Source: Borys, J.M et al, EPODE approach for childhood obesity prevention: methods, progress and international development, Obesity Reviews, 2011
MY LESSONS LEARNED
Critical Importance of: • Maternal Health • Breastfeeding • Breakfast and Sleep • Food Environment • Physical Activity • Genetics as a Factor • Not Shaming People and • Understanding Healthy Weights as a complex issue
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FROM STRATEGY TO ACTION: PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE HEALTHY KIDS PANEL’S REPORT
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• YMCA’s Response to the Healthy Kids Panel Report, based on YMCA’s three pillars:
Program Delivery
Public Policy
Partnerships
Questions and Comments?
Thank you
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Medhat Mahdy President, YMCA Ontario President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Toronto www.ymcagta.org http://annualreport.ymcagta.org