Cost of preventable disease remains high
Cost of preventable disease remains high
Pinpoint risk factors, teach lifestyle change
Medical costs for people with chronic conditions are about $470 billion annually in the United States. In 1995, an estimated 99 million people in this country had chronic conditions, and the number is expected to rise as the population ages. According to data gathered by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ, about 150 million Americans will suffer from a chronic disease by the year 2030.
That’s why patient education managers are continually being asked to design programs that help people identify their risk factors for chronic disease and alter their lifestyles accordingly. Wellness screenings, followed by an in-depth personal consultation is the key prevention strategy at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN. The screening includes a health history and measurement of height, weight, body mass index, cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure.
"We spend a lot of time on the risk factors for heart disease, and the majority of the time is on exercise and nutrition. Usually, if you lose weight, your blood pressure and cholesterol will go down," says Kelly Natvig, MA, supervisor of Business Health Services at the hospital.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, more than one-third of the adults in the United States are obese. Also, less than a quarter of the population report eating the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Motivating behavior change can be difficult, and counselors at the screenings usually have a health education or exercise science degree in which they are trained in behavior modification, says Natvig. During the counseling session, they continue to assess each person in order to make suggestions for lifestyle changes.
One or two follow-up calls are made after the screening to determine if the person saw his or her physician or has started an exercise or weight loss program to reduce risk for certain illnesses. However, people are encouraged to take control of their own health care. "Once we give them their risk factors and tell them what they need to do, we can’t do much more," says Natvig.
Learning readiness is key
To help reach people who are ready to learn, the screenings are advertised in local newspapers and usually conducted at primary care physician offices. People who make the effort to come are often the most motivated to make necessary lifestyle changes. At health fairs, many participants are simply going through the stations, says Natvig.
The counselors who do the screenings have found that getting people started on an exercise program is the best way to launch them into a healthy lifestyle. They are more receptive to exercise than to a smoking cessation program or diet change. "Usually, if they start one healthy behavior they are more likely to go on to another," says Natvig. (To learn how to get seniors to start exercising, see story, p. 84.)
The Heart School at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, TN, was designed to manage and prevent cardiovascular disease. People who have two or more high-risk factors that cannot be altered, such as age and a family history of heart disease, are encouraged to attend to learn how to impact the risk factors they can control, says Laura Harrill, MS, community outreach director at the hospital.
Cardiovascular disease causes 40% of the deaths in the United States, yet many of these deaths could be prevented. The CDC cites tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition as major contributors to the development of heart disease.
Blount Memorial’s heart school is a six-hour program that teaches participants how to change risk factors, health habits, food choices, stressful attitudes, and fitness levels in an effort to reduce premature deaths and increase the quality of life.
Another prevention/management program the hospital recently started is aimed at osteoporosis. It consists of a series of weight bearing exercise programs, since researchers have found this improves bone density, followed by a lecture on nutrition and other factors affecting osteoporosis.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.