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Volume 1:
No. 2, April 2004
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
ORIGINAL RESEARCH: FEATURED
ABSTRACT FROM THE 18TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHRONIC DISEASE
PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Heart-healthy and
Stroke-free: Making the Business Case to Employers and Purchasers for Preventing
Heart Disease and Stroke
DM Matson-Koffman, VA Anwuri, D Orenstein, K Shore, L Agin, SA Garfinkel,
LA Sokler, NB Watkins, GA Mensah
Suggested citation for this article: Matson-Koffman
DM, Anwuri VA, Orenstein D, Shore K, Agin L, Garfinkel SA, et al.
Heart-healthy and stroke-free: making the business case to
employers and purchasers for preventing heart disease and stroke [abstract]. Prev
Chronic Dis [serial online] 2004 Apr [date cited]. Available
from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2004/
apr/03_0034l.htm.
PEER REVIEWED
The objective of this study was to highlight 2 Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) initiatives aimed at educating employers about
health benefits and interventions that will have the greatest impact on
preventing heart disease and stroke and reducing associated costs.
The CDC conducted a literature review and met with the National
Business Group on Health to present effective interventions and promising
practices for controlling heart disease and stroke and related risk factors.
The CDC is also working with the American Institute of Research to develop a
toolkit for states that will contain similar information.
We conducted a literature review using the Internet and ABI/Inform,
LexisNexis, Medline, OVID, and PubMed databases. We identified 55 articles
for health care and 22 for work site settings.
Findings suggest that the most promising interventions for improving the
prevention and control of high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol in
health care settings include quality care teams and protocols that follow
national treatment and prevention guidelines, the use of physician and
patient reminders via automated record systems, and patient education
combined with quality improvement goals. In the work site setting, the most
promising interventions are individual counseling and follow-up, combined
with environmental supports such as health risk appraisals, wellness
communications, health education classes, and access to healthy food choices
and exercise facilities. On the basis of information from 9 organizations,
the return-on-investment estimates ranged from $1.40 to $4.90 in savings per
dollar spent for work site health management interventions.
To have the greatest impact on preventing heart disease and stroke, employers should consider individual risk-reduction counseling for high-risk
employees within the context of a comprehensive systems-level approach and
the most promising environmental health promotion interventions.
Corresponding Author: Dyann Matson-Koffman, DrPH, MPH, Public
Health Educator/Behavioral Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Cardiovascular Health Branch, Division of Adult and Community
Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Mail Stop K-47, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717.
Telephone: 770-488-8002. E-mail: dmatsonkoffman@cdc.gov.
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