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Hale and hearty—That's what Joan Wharf Higgins wants us to be.
She studies how communities can help us get there.
by Jessica Gillies
As everyone knows, it's not always easy to fit healthy living into our hectic lives. But Dr. Joan Wharf Higgins, an associate professor in UVic's department of physical education, is determined to make sure we stay fit.
As the Canada Research Chair in Health and Society, her focus is on health promotion, defined by the World Health Organization as "the process of increasing control over and improving people's health." Wharf Higgins is concerned with the control part of the equation.
"Control over health has a different meaning for everyone," she says. "You're not going to be healthy unless you feel that you have control over your life and your decisions. Some things are completely out of your hands, but making that distinction is empowering as well."
Much of Wharf Higgins' research has concentrated on factors people can't control, and she's interested in how communities can influence public health in areas such as social relationships, health and recreation facilities, and economic climate.
The focus in early health research was on the individual, and in some cases it was believed that people's unhealthiness was their own fault. This isn't necessarily true, says Wharf Higgins. "Despite their good intentions, people are sometimes prevented from living healthy lifestyles because of barriers beyond their control. They don't always have the resources they need."
Communities are not necessarily defined by geography. One study by Wharf Higgins examined the promotion of "heart health" among low-income single mothers by concentrating on prevention instead of the usual focus on the heart disease itself.
"Single mothers are one of the groups at the greatest risk for heart disease," she explains, "because many have low incomes and struggle to eat properly and exercise, as well as feeding their kids."
The study showed that although low-income single mothers were well aware of what they should be doing to stay healthy—such as quit smoking, eat healthy foods and exercise—those lifestyle changes could not be a priority for them because they were too busy trying to make ends meet.
"The mothers recommended that the whole social support system be revamped for single mothers," says Wharf Higgins. "They felt that they didn't have enough money to live on, and that the rules of the system often penalized them for trying to get ahead."
Wharf Higgins became interested in health promotion in between completing a master's degree at UVic and starting a PhD at UBC. "I worked for the Heart and Stroke Foundation as a health education co-ordinator, and that's really where I saw the limitations of an education-only approach. Education is important, of course, but does it really reach the people most at risk? They might not be interested in information because they're dealing with other priorities."
Wharf Higgins wants to create healthy environments for everybody, regardless of age or stage of life, and a number of her current projects reflect this.
She's collaborating with Drs. Viviene Temple and Patti-Jean Naylor, both from UVic's physical education department, who are leading a project called Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers. The project is training daycare workers to integrate physical activity and basic physical movements into preschoolers' days.
With the Canadian Council on Learning Health and Knowledge Centre, she's exploring how to support the learning and health of adolescents when they aren't in school. She's also working with the Action Schools B.C. Project, which is examining how teachers can integrate physical activity into the school day.
At the other end of the age spectrum, she's working with Silver Threads in Sidney to offer a program called "A Taste of Healthy Living." The program helps seniors be more active, eat healthy foods, feel connected to their community, and contribute to their own health or disease management.
The Sidney program is an offshoot of an earlier research project on type-2 diabetes prevention, led by Wharf Higgins. The project explored how recreational opportunities can engage people at risk for the disease and give them access to educational and community resources for healthier living. The program included such initiatives as a walking program with tribal schools on the Saanich Peninsula, and a pedometer lending program at the Sidney Library.
Ultimately, Wharf Higgins's work is about giving people control from a community perspective.
"In a lot of cases, what's out of control is things like the price of healthy food. Lately, there's a movement in the schools to put healthy options in vending machines or cafeterias that are cheaper than the less healthy options. People now have the ability to exercise some control, and that's what gives them a sense of self-confidence and self-worth."
For more information on Wharf Higgins's research, visit www.educ.uvic.ca/Faculty/wharfhiggins/default.htm. To find out more about UVic's other Canada Research Chairs, visit www.research.uvic.ca/research_uvic/CRC_List.htm.
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