Healthy Communities

Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Strategy

Chronic disease prevention addresses preventable, non-communicable chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, cancer, diabetes, lung problems, and mental illness) that are linked to:

• common risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, stress, tobacco use,
• determinants of health such as gender, social environment, and income, and
• co-morbidity, the effect of all other diseases an individual might have.

Substantial evidence exists that these diseases are preventable through interventions aimed at the major risk factors and the environmental, economic, social and behavioural determinants in the population.

Nova Scotia has developed a Chronic Disease Prevention Strategy that serves as the framework for building and strengthening our actions to reduce the impact of chronic diseases on all Nova Scotians.