Virginia Congregations Come Together to Act on Heart Disease and Stroke

Submission Date: November 2017

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Virginia

States/Territories Involved: Virginia

Funding Source: CDC

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

(1305) State Public Health

Domain Addressed:

Community-Clinical Linkages

Public Health Issue:

• Many persons at high risk for heart attack or stroke don’t know it and may not adopt a healthy lifestyle that can help them prevent these conditions.
• 100 Congregations for Million Hearts® is a national effort designed to encourage faith-based organizations to increase awareness and action around heart disease and stroke prevention by promoting healthy lifestyle for blood pressure control.

Program Action:

• The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Office of Health Equity launched Virginia’s Congregations for Million Hearts initiative in partnership with the national initiative as a way to engage the membership and leadership of Virginia’s congregations in reducing health disparities related to heart disease and stroke.
• Virginia congregations hold blood pressure screening events and most of them share the screening results with VDH through a privacy-protected, data collection process that excludes personal identifiers. In conjunction with screening events, they also implement health fairs and educational events.
• Virginia Partners in Prayer & Prevention rebrands Virginia’s Congregations for Million Hearts initiative and extends the congregations’ work into the community by creating a VDH hub for public health resources and technical assistance.

Impact/Accomplishments:

• Nearly 200 congregations from many faiths now partner with Virginia’s Million Hearts initiative. The congregations have provided 43 blood pressure screening events in their communities during the past 28 months of the initiative, along with many health fairs and educational sessions.
• About 41% of the more than 1,600 participants screened for high blood pressure were potentially hypertensive and referred to a healthcare provider for diagnosis.
• To leverage the initiative’s potential, congregational health teams were established — groups of churches that pool their resources to plan events encompassing many more activities than one congregation could implement alone.
• The VDH Chronic Disease Unit created the Virginia Congregations Blood Pressure Ministry Event Planning Guide, providing congregations with practical advice on hosting blood pressure screenings and other aspects of a Million Hearts ministry effort.
• Twenty-five “Partners in Prayer & Prevention Community Health Champions” completed intensive capacity-building training on key public health issues that disproportionately affect underserved communities. These Champions help build community toolkits, new partnerships and community coalitions. Bi-weekly partner resource sessions keep them up-to-date on health issues.
• This Virginia initiative won the support of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the American Heart Association, Walgreens pharmacies, the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps, Liberty University, and several other colleges and universities in the state.

Program Areas:

Health Equity and Cultural Competency, Healthy Communities (general)

State Contact Information:

VA
Augustine Doe, MS, MPA
Virginia Department of Health
804-864-7436
augustine.doe@vdh.virginia.gov

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