Programs | Blood Pressure Interventions

Health-related programs for blood pressure screening and control^1-3

Employee programs refer to activities that include active employee involvement, such as classes, seminars or competitions. Employee programs are frequently provided on-site at the workplace.

Employee health surveys in the workplace provide assessment and implementation opportunities

• Information from employee health surveys can be used to identify the percent of employees that have received blood pressure screening. Survey information can be used not only in obtaining baseline group data on employee health but also to educate individual employees to their needs for counseling and follow-up for specific health concerns  
• Other surveys can be used as planning guides to assess if a worksite has provided services, programs, policies, and environmental interventions to support healthy lifestyles and prevent risk factors such as high blood pressure

Worksite blood pressure screening, health education, and lifestyle counseling can identify employees with high blood pressure and help them control it

• Periodic blood pressure screening and health risk assessment programs at the worksite through occupational health clinics, health fairs, and other activities can provide blood pressure information to employees. Employees who have elevated values should get therapeutic lifestyle counseling and be referred to clinical care for follow-up. Health care professionals or human resources staff can provide information about the benefits and availability of screening to encourage and motivate employees to be screened
• One-on-one education and lifestyle counseling with clinical referral and follow-up should be provided for employees who were determined to have high blood pressure or pre-hypertension. A lifestyle management program is an ongoing series of services designed to teach and counsel participants on how to make healthy choices, such as exercise, diet, and tobacco cessation  
• Lifestyle counseling, either provided at the worksite or covered through employee health insurance plans, can be provided by health care or allied health professionals (i.e., health educators) or by lay health advisors or volunteers, This type of counseling provides employees with information by telephone or face-to-face in an office or clinic settings or at a workplace
• Screening and lifestyle counseling can be supplemented by brochures, informational letters, videos, newsletters, health fairs, or reminders. The interventions can be tailored to address risks of developing high blood pressure, questions, or barriers relevant to the individual or to a group
• Seminars, educational workshops, or classes (including online, telephone conference or self study guide) on preventing and controlling high blood pressure can be provided
• Blood pressure monitoring devices available for employees to do their own self assessments can also be provided at the worksite with information or training on how to use them

Worksite lifestyle programs can help employees control their blood pressure

• The health-related program strategies and interventions listed for physical activity, alcohol use, nutrition, stress, type 2 diabetes, and obesity include lifestyle activities recommended to control blood pressure

Tools and Resources

• The National Institutes of Health have developed Prevent and Control America’s High Blood Pressure: Mission Possible (http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/mission/), a website which includes fact sheets on healthy activities in English and Spanish, posters for businesses, lists of potential community partners, and recommendations for action in employee populations
• High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet
  developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The American Heart Association High Blood Pressure provides information on blood pressure risk, an online high blood pressure health risk calculator, quizzes, and an opportunity to ask experts questions
• Five Simple Ways to Control Your Blood Pressure fact sheet developed by the American Heart Association
• The Stroke Collaborative, a partnership of the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, American Academy of Neurology, and the American College of Emergency Physicians, has developed the Give Me 5 for Stroke Web Site Icon website which provides a number of educational materials in English and Spanish related to stroke risk factors including high blood pressure and lifestyle changes to prevent stroke