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. 2005 Jul-Aug;96(4):294-8.
doi: 10.1007/BF03405169.

A community-based program for cardiovascular health awareness

Larry W Chambers  1 , Janusz Kaczorowski, Lisa Dolovich, Tina Karwalajtys, Heather L Hall, Beatrice McDonough, William Hogg, Barbara Farrell, Alexandra Hendriks, Cheryl Levitt
Affiliations

A community-based program for cardiovascular health awareness

Larry W Chambers et al. Can J Public Health. 2005 Jul-Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: The objective of the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP) is to improve the processes of care related to the cardiovascular health of older adults.

Participants: Two Ontario communities including family physicians (FP), pharmacists, public health units and nurses, volunteer peer health educators, older adult patients and community organizations.

Setting: Community pharmacies and family physician offices.

Intervention: CHAP is designed to close a process of care loop around cardiovascular health awareness that originates from, and returns to, the FP. Older patients are invited by their FP to attend pharmacy CHAP sessions. At these sessions, trained volunteer peer health educators (PHEs) assist patients both in recording their blood pressure using a calibrated automated device and in completing a cardiovascular risk profile. This information is relayed to their respective FP via an automated computerized database. Pharmacists and patients receive copies of the results. Based on these cumulative risk profiles, patients are advised to follow-up with their FP.

Outcomes: Of the FPs and pharmacists asked, 47% and 79%, respectively, agreed to participate in the project. 39% of older adult patients invited by their FPs attended the CHAP community pharmacy sessions. Of these, 100% agreed to having their risk profile, including their blood pressure readings, forwarded to their FP. Positive feedback about CHAP was expressed by the volunteer PHEs, the FPs and the pharmacists.

Conclusion: The community-based pharmacy CHAP sessions are a feasible way of improving patient, physician, and pharmacist access to reliable blood pressure measurements and to cardiovascular health information. A randomized trial is in progress that will assess the impact of CHAP on monitoring of blood pressure.

Objectif: L’objectif du programme communautaire de sensibilisation à l’hypertension CHAP (Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program) est d’améliorer les soins apportés aux personnes âgées en matière de santé cardiovasculaire.

Participants: Deux localités de l’Ontario, des médecins de famille, des pharmaciens, des infirmières de santé publique, des bénévoles-éducateurs en santé des pairs, des personnes âgées, des bureaux de santé publique et des organismes communautaires.

Milieu: Pharmacies communautaires et cabinets de médecins de famille.

Intervention: CHAP est un programme conçu pour boucler la boucle des soins en matière de sensibilisation à la santé cardiovasculaire qui débute et se termine avec le médecin de famille. Des personnes âgées reçoivent une invitation de leur médecin de famille de participer au programme CHAP. Au cours de ces séances, des éducateurs-bénévoles en santé des pairs ayant reçu une formation aident les patients à mesurer leur tension artérielle à l’aide d’un appareil calibré et automatisé, ainsi qu’à remplir un profil de risques cardiovasculaires. Ces renseignements sont ensuite transmis à leurs médecins de famille à l’aide d’une banque de données informatisée; les pharmaciens et patients reçoivent aussi des copies des résultats. Selon leur profil cumulé de risques, on conseille aux patients de consulter leur médecin.

Résultats: Parmi les médecins et pharmaciens approchés, 47% et 79% respectivement ont accepté de participer au projet. Chez les aînés, 39% des personnes ayant reçu une invitation de leur médecin de famille ont participé aux séances d’évaluation de la tension artérielle. De ce groupe, 100% ont consenti à ce que leur profil de risques et leurs chiffres tensionnels soient transmis au médecin de famille. Les bénévoles-éducateurs, médecins de famille et pharmaciens ont exprimé des commentaires positifs au sujet du CHAP.

Conclusion: Ces séances en pharmacies communautaires sont une façon viable d’améliorer l’accès des patients, des médecins et des pharmaciens à des mesures précises de la tension artérielle et à des renseignements sur la santé cardiovasculaire.

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