Healthy Built Environment
Linkages Toolkit:
Applying built environment
principles in EH practice
Lisa Mu
Medical Health Officer
Fraser Health Authority
ACT Canada Summit
Dec. 1, 2014
1
Healthy Built Environment Alliance
(HBEA; the Alliance)
• Knowledge sharing
network (BC)
• Forum for collaboration
on priority activities to
promote & develop
built environments
that encourage &
support healthy living
•
Members from:
–
–
–
–
–
Land use planning
Design fields
Provincial ministries
Health authorities
Community-based health
organizations
– Local government
– Universities/academia
What do we mean by built environment?
• Human-made or modified
physical surroundings in
which people live, work,
and play
• Homes, communities,
schools, workplaces,
parks/recreational areas,
business areas, and
transportation systems
3
• Large-scale urban areas
to smaller rural
developments
• Directly impacts physical,
social, and mental health
• Reflected in measures of
health status
Healthy built environments:
What do they look like?
e.g., Which of these neighbourhoods is more ‘walkable’?
(A)
(B)
Healthy built environments:
What do they look like?
e.g., Which of these eating environments is healthier?
(A)
Photo credit: iStock
(B)
Photo credit: Tabercil
Healthy built environments:
How do we create them?
How do you decide what to do?
 Examine the evidence.....
…?
≠
Purpose
Why did the Alliance develop another toolkit?
How should we share health evidence that
can support good planning and the HBE?
What are our key messages about the HBE?
(need for common language/consistent messaging)
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
Physical Features of a
Healthy Built Environment
Neighbourhood
design
Transportation
networks
Housing
Food
environments
Natural
environments
8
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Approach
Collected, analyzed & summarized the evidence
1. Consultation with experts
• Advisory groups – planners and content experts
2. Evidence review methodology
• Literature reviews of the physical features:
–
–
–
–
–
Neighbourhood design
Transportation networks
Natural environments
Food systems
Housing
• Cluster evidence by planning principle
3. Grading system
• Quality assessment of findings
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Scope of Evidence Review/Toolkit
• Systematic reviews
• English; North America, Europe and Australia
• No specified time frame
• Context: urban, suburban, and rural
• Focused on large-scale, outdoor physical features & environments
10
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Layout
Current evidence used to identify planning
principles for each of the five physical
features
User guide created to encourage
consideration of context
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
What does the evidence say?
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
What does the evidence say?
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Components
Planning principles for:
•
•
•
•
•
Healthy Neighbourhood Design
Healthy Transportation Networks
Healthy Natural Environments
Healthy Food Systems
Healthy Housing
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Components
Linkages Summary
• Briefly describes the links
shown in the literature between:
• Planning principles
• Intermediate impacts
• Health-related outcomes
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Components
Fact Sheet
• Highlights key aspects of the
evidence behind each planning
principle, and how these link to
intermediate impacts & healthrelated outcomes
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Components
Health Evidence Diagram
• Visually show the strength of
evidence or expert opinion
linking planning principles to
impacts & health-related
outcomes
• Shows areas where more
research needed
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Limitations
• See User Guide!
• Indirect nature of evidence linking principles to health outcomes
• Toolkit identifies what should be done to create HBEs – it doesn’t
get into the how
• Significantly more research is available for some physical features
(e.g., neighbourhood design) vs. others (e.g., food systems)
18
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Using the Toolkit
1)
It’s a “conversation-starter”
• Provides an organizing framework for
presenting information and facilitating
discussions between & within sectors
2)
Helps users apply health evidence
• Provides consistent & clear messages to
inform the development of other documents
& support decision-making around health &
the built environment
3)
Identifies where more research
needed
• Toolkit provides a roadmap for emerging
and innovative evidence
Using the Linkages Toolkit for EH Practice
Education
• New staff
• Staff new to HBE
Planning
• Framing thinking about what to do
Collaboration
• Start conversations with other jurisdictions
Advocacy
• Evidence to support policy change/by-law development
20
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
21
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
22
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
Agricultural Land Reserve removal applications
23
https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourEnvironment/HealthyBuiltEnvironment/Pages/default.aspx
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
New Westminster HBE Lens
http://www.newwestcity.ca/about_t
he_city/living_in_new_westminster/
healthier-communitiespartnership#healthy-builtenvironments
24
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
North Vancouver SpeakUp for Health
http://www2.cnv.org/CityShaping/papers/Vancouver%20Coastal%20Health%20%20Position%20Paper.pdf
25
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
North Vancouver SpeakUp for Health
26
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
Linkages Toolkit in EH Practice
North Vancouver SpeakUp for Health
27
Slide courtesy of Karen Rideout, BCCDC, NCCEH
How are you using the Toolkit?
1) Will the HBE Linkages Toolkit be useful for your work?
If yes, please share some examples of how it will be useful.
2) Who will you share the HBE Linkages Toolkit with?
3) How do you think HBE Linkages Toolkit could be
improved?
4) What additional HBE tools or resources would help
support you in your work?
28
HBE Linkages Toolkit:
Next Steps
Sustainability plan
• Monitor the evidence base &
periodically update the toolkit
• Develop a user guide to support
evidence collection/capture
Evaluation plan
• Track toolkit use
• Seek feedback from users for toolkit
improvement & suggestions for
other resources needed
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
Questions?
• Download the HBE Linkages Toolkit
www.phsa.ca/populationhealth
• Contact: Lisa.mu@fraserhealth.ca
30