Name: Sonia Donaires
Million Hearts Messages
- Explain how your innovation was produced. Describe the conditions, policies, epidemiological and biomedical data leading to the implementation of this innovation.
Heart disease is a chronic illness that can be prevented. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for men and women in the USA. Every year 735,000 people die of heart disease (1 out of every four deaths). The most common type is coronary heart disease, killing over 370,000 people every year. This disease affects both genders (men and women). The four largest race ethnicities in the USA are affected, white, African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
Million Hearts Toolkits were created by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the purpose of fighting heart disease and was implemented in 2011. This message is an innovative way to educate and persuade people through social marketing about the risk factors of heart disease in order to bring about behavior change (CDC, 2014). The goal of Million Hearts is to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Million Hearts proposes to reach people nationwide to help them control blood pressure, learn cholesterol management, and to cause smoking cessation. It intendsto build communities free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Million Hearts is a toolkit that is designed to work in conjunction with businesses, communities, schools, religious communities, nonprofit organizations, etc. The dissemination and diffusion of these programs are important to reach populations at high risk in the USA.
The toolkits were created in order to reach the Million Heart’s goal; to change the environment by reducing smoke, to reduce sodium intake, and eliminate the intake of trans fats. They also strive to achieve an optimal healthcare system by using health tools, technology, and care delivery innovations to focus on the ABCS (Aspirin, Blood pressure, Cholesterol, and Smoking) (CDC, 2014).
- Determine and explain how the diffusion of innovations theory has supported this innovation in promotion, structure and popularity.(Note: Please review chapter 10 section on the Characteristics of Innovations and reference these factors in your response.)
Based on the characteristics of innovations, the success of an innovation message derives in the application of the characteristics before people adopt the practice, during adoption and after adoption. In this case, the adoption of Million Hearts Message to my understanding is becoming in a successful message to the target population because of the improvements shown in the target population. Million Hearts Message is compatible with the values and practices of the current target audience (population at high risk of heart attack in the USA) (CDC, 2014). The message presented is easy to understand and available through the mass media: The Million Hearts Messages diffusion to the public health nationwide was supported by 1 million visits to the Million Hearts website.
- E-newsletter distribution to more than 48,00 subscribers
- More that 140 free downloadable resources from info-graphics to heart attack survivor testimonial videos and provider tools
- More than 63,000 Facebook fans and 15,000 Twitter followers as of August 2014(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2012).
During the adoption of the Million Hearts, the program is easy to perform and educate to the target audience. Million Hearts provide a critical message for an individual with warning symptoms that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. After the adoption, people feel very committed to continuing with the treatment. Also, this program was supported by the collaboration of 100 partners. They are compromised to work with specific activities to approach population at high risk. They are: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Association of Black Cardiologists, Kaiser Permanente, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, American Heart Association, and many others. All united with the purpose to improve the heart health of the American population(Million Hearts, n.d.).
- Discuss the status of this innovation today. Think about current policies, epidemiological data, biostatistics and other data that explain its impact on public health.
Since 2012, Million Hearts has had an impact on health care professionals. They have adopted health tools, technologies, and innovative care delivery models to support the goals of ABCS.
The ABCS
-Aspirin - Improvements that may have been made by the intake of aspirin to prevent heart attack have a low rate because currently few Americans are participating in an aspirin treatment regimen. While there are many people that are not aware of this treatment, those that are may have other reasons for not participating such as a fear of secondary side effects.
-Blood Pressure Control - 11 Hypertension Control Champions are health centers that have beenrecognized and rewarded for high performance. Strategies taken by these centers to improve a patient’s blood pressure are:
- Improving medication adherence
- Implementing electronic health records as quality enhancing tools
- Using teams to build effective partnerships with patients
- Promoting self-measured blood pressure monitoring and providing clinical support(Million Hearts, n.d.).
-Cholesterol Management - According to Kaiser Permanente Colorado High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Management Program, patients that were screened for cholesterol increased from 55% to 97% and the number of patients who met target cholesterol levels increased from 26% to 73%(Million Hearts, n.d.).
-Smoking Cessation - Medications and behavioral counseling helped to cause behavior change in patientsthat smoke. Between 2012 and 2013 increased intervention phone lines from health care providers and other sources increased by 30,000. The strategy used in this case was the reward of $20.00 per smoker receiving an intervention such as smoking cessation counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, medication, or a fax-to-quit referral. When the program ended in 2012, an increase was seen from 27% to 91% of documented smokers that were receiving treatment(Million Hearts, n.d.)..
Changing the environment
-Smoke free environments - Since 2012, 102 U.S. communities have implemented local laws making workplaces, restaurants, and bars 100% smoke free. Researchers reported 19% reduction in heart attack hospitalizations rates after implementation of smoke-free laws (Million Hearts, n.d.).
-Sodium reduction programs - In California, these programs have reduced more that 26% in sodium content per meal on over 15 meals offered at restaurants(Million Hearts, n.d.).
-Trans Fat elimination - In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that “trans fat” used in foods are not recognized as safe for use. Therefore, food manufacturers will no longer be permitted to sell PHOs as ingredients in food products, without prior FDA approval(Million Hearts, n.d.).
References
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2012, February 29). Health Information for the public. Retrieved from
Million Hearts. (n.d.) Resources. Retrieved from