Developing a public health approach for Canada.

The Advisory Committee on Community Health set up a working group to prepare a national strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in Canada. The Federal-Provincial Working Group on the Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Disease in Canada held a series of provincial consultations in early 1987 towards this end. These consultations indicated that the widespread prevalence of risk factors required emphasis on a population approach to reduce cardiovascular disease. To address prevention effectively, a wide array of approaches need to be considered; of paramount importance is intersectoral cooperation in the public and private sectors, to bring about environmental change supportive of a healthy lifestyle.