Prevention Matters

The passage of a health reform bill that emphasizes prevention and wellness was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while reduced life expectancy due to preventable risk factors was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

Obama Signs Historic Health Reform Law, Steps Up Focus on Prevention and Wellness

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the health care bill into law. The new federal health reform law (HR 3590) includes many provisions aimed at disease prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles. The law creates a $15 billion fund for programs designed to promote prevention and wellness, such as efforts to address obesity and to help patients manage chronic diseases. The law also establishes a National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council to coordinate federal efforts to promote healthy living. In addition, the health care reform law:

• Eliminates copayments for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries receiving preventive services;
• Increases reimbursement rates for physicians who offer certain preventive services;
• Provides grants to small business for establishing wellness programs and incentives for employers to offer workers as much as 50% off their premiums for participating in such programs; and
• Requires chain restaurants and vending machines to disclose nutritional information.

WORST

Four Preventable Risk Factors Reduce Life Expectancy in U.S. and Lead to Health Disparities

A new study led by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in collaboration with researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimates that smoking, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose and overweight and obesity currently reduce life expectancy in the U.S. by 4.9 years in men and 4.1 years in women. It is the first study to look at the effects of those four preventable risk factors on life expectancy in the whole nation.

Thirteen key aspects of cardiovascular disease prevention are identified as performance measures in a new, comprehensive set of detailed steps to help healthcare providers reduce patients’ risk for heart problems. The performance measures, developed by a joint task force of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, are simultaneously published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The 13 measures are:

• lifestyle/risk factor screening
• dietary intake counseling
• physical activity counseling
• smoking/tobacco use assessment
• smoking/tobacco cessation
• weight and body fat assessment
• weight management
• blood pressure measurement
• blood pressure control
• blood lipid measurement
• blood lipid therapy and control
• estimation of a patient’s global risk for developing heart disease
• aspirin use in at-risk patients

Middle-aged male smokers with high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels face dying about 10 years before healthier counterparts, a study warns. The UK study, published in in the British Medical Journal, looked at more than 19,000 civil servants aged 40-69 and traced what happened to them 38 years later.

The percentage of Americans without major heart disease risk factors rose during the 1980s and 1990s, but our health is declining again, a new study shows. The number of people with obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure is increasing, even though the percentage of smokers is still heading south, according to the study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Partnership for Prevention today said it was encouraged by a new initiative at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in which economic stimulus funds will be used to reduce risk factors associated with the leading causes of preventable death.

“Tobacco use, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are driving the overwhelming majority of preventable deaths and chronic illnesses in the United States,” said Partnership President/CEO Robert J. Gould. “Investing in high-impact approaches to reduce these risk factors should yield a handsome return for the country, not only in terms of improved health but also in improved productivity and an improved economy.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce the release of $373 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to fund the first part of a new $650 million public health initiative named “Communities Putting Prevention to Work.” The initial $373 million will fund competitive grants awarded to communities to support evidence-based prevention strategies for youths and adults and to promote partnerships across communities and sectors.

Funds will be awarded for projects in two categories: Obesity/Physical Activity/Nutrition and Tobacco Control/Cessation. Approximately 30-40 community awardees will be selected for the initiative. Awards for both categories will vary with size of jurisdiction and the needs of communities. Size of the grants varies from $500,000-$1 million for tribal applicants to $10 million-$20 million for large cities.

Partnership for Prevention had urged Congress to include disease prevention and health promotion projects in the economic stimulus bill, and had also encouraged HHS to invest those funds in high-impact, evidence-based approaches to reduce the major risk factors. Communities that wish to apply for awards can find more information at www.grants.gov.

An additional $277 million will be made available in the coming weeks to states, territories, and other organizations and networks to support and extend the reach and impact of the community projects. The deadlines for the state, territory, and other prevention projects that are part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative will be announced soon.