Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is requesting $750,000 to continue the WISEWOMAN program in collaboration with Local Health Jurisdictions, Community Based Organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). DOH’s WISEWOMAN program will be delivered in 4 distinct geographic regions in eastern and western Washington, followed by expansion to other areas of Washington Breast and Cervical Health Program (BCCHP) service which demonstrate a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease factors and higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and address identified priority populations. Medical risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking rates, as well as socioeconomic and environmental risk factors, such as poverty, limited access to healthy goods, and access to health insurance, are much higher in rural areas of Washington, and for people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, or Hispanic/Latino.
Over the five-year period of this Cooperative Agreement, DOH will further embed WISEWOMAN services in participating clinics to reduce cardiovascular risk factors for women 35-64 who are uninsured or underinsured and enrolled in BCCHP. DOH anticipates leveraging existing relationships and building new collaborations to address participant engagement and completion of Lifestyle Support Programs (LSP) while addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Our approach will be patient centered and culturally relevant to address patient recruitment and retention, screening, Risk Reduction Counseling, health coaching, referral to Evidence Based and Evidence Informed programs, and barrier reduction. We expect that increased blood pressure control and improved detection, prevention, and control of CVD risk factors will contribute to positive outcomes. Our evaluation and data management system will provide evidence of program achievement. Our cross-agency collaborations with the Heart Disease and Stroke, Healthy Eating Active Living, and nutrition programs will strengthen and support WISEWOMAN participants.
To support completion of LSPs, DOH will employ two strategies, including piloting a community-based organization (CBO) Patient Navigator model and engaging participants directly in the evaluation and development of Plan-Do-Study Act (PDSA) cycles. DOH will build on connecting FQHC patients to Accountable Communities of Health which have local patient navigation systems to address SDOH and barriers to attending Lifestyle Supports. DOH will collaborate with the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center to seek participant input through key informant interviews, focus groups and surveys. This information will be valuable to adjusting WISEWOMAN to efficiently and effectively addressing barriers to program engagement and Lifestyle Support Program completion.
While Washington’s WISEWOMAN program has made substantial progress, implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted engagement significantly in clinics, health systems, and most importantly in participants. Our proposal builds on the lessons learned during this unprecedented time and will maximize investments already made in the work of local communities and service providers.
