The strategy includes 25 actions across 10 themes including those identified by the community through co-designed and collaborative engagement.
On December 11, Mississauga City Council unanimously approved the Healthy City Strategy, aimed at reducing risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes. The strategy empowers City staff and decision makers to apply a health equity lens in the planning and development of City programs, policies, initiatives and infrastructure.
With the vision of fostering a city where all residents thrive and are healthy, active, connected and supported within their community, the strategy embeds a “health equity” perspective into decision making to recognize the health, environmental and social differences across Mississauga and work towards decreasing the prevalence of diabetes and other chronic diseases in Mississauga.
Healthy City Strategy
The Healthy City Strategy was made possible through collaboration with Peel Public Health, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations, Trillium Health Partners and Cities for Better Health (CBH – formerly Cities Changing Diabetes).
The strategy focuses on compact, complete and connected neighbourhoods; community services and programming in support of active living and education; and collaborations with researchers, community, organizations, business, agency and government. It also outlines how the City can influence positive change without taking on responsibilities that belong to other organizations or levels of government.
The strategy incorporates input from research and data experts, health research findings and the experiences of other municipalities to pursue an evidence-informed approach. More than 1,000 participants provided feedback to help inform the strategy, which captured their lived experience and identified needs and priorities for healthy living.
Mississauga’s commitment to building a healthier city
In November 2021, the City joined the Cities for Better Health program and Council unanimously signed the Urban Diabetes Declaration. This partnership connects Mississauga with more than 50 international cities, facilitating shared resources and knowledge to better understand and combat the rise of type 2 diabetes. Since then, the City has benefited from the CBH shared resources and learnings from around the world to inform our strategy.
The City continues to promote active transportation and healthy lifestyles through its focus on complete and connected communities. Mississauga also offers a variety of public fitness and wellness programs.
Prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Mississauga
Diabetes is a serious medical condition that affects the way the body regulates and uses sugar as a fuel. This long-term (chronic) condition results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstream.
The prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes in most neighbourhoods in Mississauga ranges from 13 to 16.9 per cent . These rates are significantly higher than the Ontario average of 9.8 per cent. Areas of high prevalence of diabetes in Mississauga appear to generally align with areas that are considered more at risk to climate change impacts, social vulnerability, lower walkability, access to green space, transit, higher proportion of fast food restaurants, core housing needs and poor air quality. This means that specific areas of Mississauga carry a higher burden of diabetes along with other risk factors that contribute to the challenge of healthy living. This is not health equity.
Moving forward, the City will begin to integrate the Healthy City Strategy and its health equity lens into planning and program implementation, working to advance the 25 actions outlined in the strategy and work towards health equity.
For more information about the Healthy City Strategy, visit the website.
Quotes
“Diabetes is a growing concern in Mississauga. I’m pleased we have a strategy that empowers staff and decision makers to consider health impacts in City planning and policy development. Thank you to our collaborators and the community for working with us to develop this important strategy. The City can’t address all health issues alone, and this plan allows us to seek integrated solutions with support from businesses, organizations and other government levels. Together, we can make our city a healthier place to live, work and play.”
Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish
“Mississauga’s Healthy City Strategy is an important step for our community. Cities play a key role in promoting public health, helping residents stay healthy and reducing risks of chronic diseases, like diabetes. As a collaborator in developing the strategy, Peel Public Health looks forward to working closely with the City of Mississauga to put the strategy into action.”
Paul Sharma, Director, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Peel Public Health
“The Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations applauds the City of Mississauga for approving the Healthy City Strategy, and looks forward to continued collaboration as we work to lessen the inequities in risk and burden of diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions. As rates of type 2 diabetes continue to rise, this strategy looks at tangible ways to reduce and remove the barriers to achieving good health faced by many in the Peel Region, and our network is pleased to be able to provide evidence-based research programs centred in the community to support this work.”
Lorraine Lipscombe, MDCM, MSc, FRCPC
Professor, Dept. of Medicine
Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Executive Director, Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations University of Toronto
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority