In 2008, Utah received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement the CDC’s Well Integrated Screening and Education for Women across the Nation (WISEWOMAN). In Utah, WISEWOMAN is known as BeWise. BeWise is passionate about improving the health of Utah’s women. Many of the Utah women aged 40-64 served by Utah’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) were unable to access cardiovascular (CV) screening and health behavior support services before WISEWOMAN funding was awarded to Utah. Beginning January 2019, BeWise will offer (CV) screening, health Behavior Support Services (HBSS), and behavioral support to 3,921 eligible Utah women at no cost and then link clients to resources with low out-of-pocket costs and work improve existing processes designed to engage women in becoming informed and motivated to manage their chronic conditions using program and community-based support services. These are effective evidence-based strategies designed to foster participants’ self-management by providing tools and resources to enable participants to monitor their blood pressure, adopt a healthy diet, increase their physical activity, and stop smoking.
To ensure that the services are implemented as intended, BeWise has established the following project period short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes which will ultimately support clinical systems of care to improve access and delivery of CVD preventive health services with an emphasis on prevention and control of HTN, outcomes described below.
Program Period of Performance-Short Term Outcomes:
1. Increased reporting, monitoring, and tracking of clinical data for improved identification, management, and treatment of women with high blood pressure
2. Increased use of and adherence to evidence-based guidelines and policies related to team-based care
3. Increased use of data systems to identify and refer at-risk women to appropriate Health Behavior Support Services (HBSS)
Program Period of Performance Intermediate-Term Outcomes:
1. Increased data sharing and utilization (e.g., through a bi-directional feedback mechanism)
2. Increased engagement in self-management among women at-risk for and with CVD
3. Increased participation in HBSS
4. Improved and maintained healthy behaviors and lifestyle changes
Program Period of Performance-Long Term Outcomes:
1. Improved hypertension (blood pressure) control
2. Improved detection, prevention, and control of CVD
BeWise has been successful implementing and evaluating the CDC’s WISEWOMAN Program in Utah since July 2008 by consistently meeting program performance measures and screening benchmarks. From July 2008-June 2018, BeWise provided a total of 29,186 screenings to 17,221, eligible women during the first ten years, averaging respectively, 1,470 baseline and 2,111 re-screenings per year. Utah has completed 63,264 or 32% of the 195,812 health coaching sessions offered nationally through the WISEWOMAN program.
BeWise plans to implement evaluation activities, described in the narrative, to establish and monitor the strategies implemented and participant successes.