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Bootheel Heart Health Project

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

The Bootheel Heart Health Project was launched by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the CDC to help communities in southeastern Missouri form local Heart Health coalitions. These coalitions help residents reduce illness and death from cardiovascular disease by decreasing smoking, increasing exercise, eating more healthfully, and checking blood cholesterol levels. The local coalitions receive funding to implement community-based interventions tailored to their community. The coalitions help develop walking clubs, aerobic exercise classes, heart healthy cooking demonstrations, community blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, and cardiovascular disease education programs. Local projects have included a weekly newspaper column dedicated to heart health, poster contests at schools, fitness festivals, High Blood Pressure Sundays at churches, and environmental changes such as fitness paths.

Goal / Mission

The goal of the Bootheel Heart Health Project was to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease and decrease morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease.

Results / Accomplishments

Communities with local Bootheel Heart Health coalitions were compared to control communities in a five year population-based study. Intervention communities had significant reductions in physical inactivity when compared to the control communities (p = 0.03) and significantly higher reports of cholesterol screening within the past 2 years (p = 0.04). The prevalence of overweight increased less in communities with coalitions than in control communities (p = 0.07). Approximately one quarter of residents in the intervention areas reported being aware of their local coalition. Residents who were aware of the local coalition had more favorable prevalence rates for physical inactivity, fruit and vegetable consumption, overweight, and cholesterol screening.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Missouri Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control
Primary Contact
Ross Brownson, PhD
Department of Community Health
School of Public Health
Saint Louis University
3663 Lindell Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 977-8110
brownson@slu.edu
Topics
Health / Heart Disease & Stroke
Health / Physical Activity
Organization(s)
Missouri Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control
Source
American Journal of Public Health
Date of publication
Feb 1996
Date of implementation
1989
Geographic Type
Rural
Location
Missouri
For more details
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC138032...
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/86/2/...

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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