The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) mission is to promote, protect, and improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities in Arizona; this includes a vision of health and wellness for all Arizonans. ADHS envisions a comprehensive, evidence-based, and data-driven approach to decreasing the prevalence and incidence of CVD, hypertension, and high cholesterol for Arizonans. The Office of Chronic Disease will continue to support and fund efforts that provide educational opportunities and prevention services to reduce CVD and stroke in regions with a crude prevalence of 53% or higher. In Arizona, our areas of focus are located in Maricopa and La Paz counties. Our objectives will focus on activities centered around addressing social determinants of health barriers and increasing the use of social services.
Through collaborative agreements and partnerships, ADHS will create capacity to increase community clinical linkages that connect people to CVD and hypertension prevention and management services. Our higher recruitment and utilization rate of CHWs will help identify specific areas of focus for each patient/community and tailor care plans that address specific needs; therefore making the community-clinic linkages more effective for each patient. This also includes implementing a county-wide, multi-directional referrals to complementary programs and resources that address social determinants of health (SDOH). ADHS will coordinate a collaborative and community-driven approach to achieve outcomes for each strategy and activity.
During the 2305 grant cycle, the strategies and activities will help guide the actions and interventions of the state, county health departments, health systems within the counties, and community organizations that conduct activities related to heart disease management.