Prevention and Control of Heart Disease and Stroke: Lessons from the Canadian Heart Health Initiative for State-Based CVH Program. Gilles Paradis, Jane Farquharson and Karen Bays for the Canadian Heart Health Initiative Investigators. Direction de la sante publique de Montreal-Centre, McGill University Health Center, Montreal; Heart Health Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University, Halifax; and City of Ottawa Public Health and Long Term Care, Ottawa, Canada

The CVH Practitioner’s Institute invites international fellows and faculty to attend the week-long training to promote exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences between heart health programs in different countries. One such program is the Canadian Heart Health Initiative (CHHI) which is a partnership among Health Canada, Provincial Ministries of Health, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation and its provincial affiliates as well as numerous provincial, regional and local organizations and volunteers. The goal of the CHHI is to develop the capacity of the public health system to plan, implement and evaluate community-based heart health promotion programs in each of Canada’s ten provinces. Each province conducted CVH surveys between 1987 and 1992 resulting in a rich risk factors data base on over 20,000 adults. The risk factor data provided impetus for province-specific demonstration projects (1990-97) to implement and evaluate CVH programs adapted to the needs of local populations. These experiences have led to dissemination research projects (1997-2003) in each province to study the process of knowledge transfer for heart health promotion. Key lessons from the CHHI experience include the necessity for strong partnerships with key community constituents, the importance of creating a shared vision with partners for community mobilization and the necessity of national and provincial public policy to support the development of local and regional programs.