Adopting Ontario’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Framework
by Maryanne Matthews
Chronic diseases are the most common and costly health problems facing Canadians. As part of our commitment to delivering comprehensive clinical care, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre has made chronic disease prevention and management a priority.
“Chronic diseases are long-term ailments that develop slowly over time that can often be prevented or controlled, but rarely cured. Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer, along with mood and anxiety disorders, account for about one third of direct health care expenditures in Canada,” explains Aaron Skillen, Program Director, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management. “We’re committed to improving the way we prevent and manage chronic diseases in order to improve quality of life for our patients. To help guide us, we’ve adopted elements of Ontario’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Framework.”
Ontario’s Framework has eight elements that our Hospital will adopt:
- Health Care Organizations
- Personal Skills & Self Management Supports
- Deliver System Design
- Provider Decision Support
- Information Systems
- Healthy Public Policy
- Supportive Environments
- Community Action