In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Nova Scholar Kurt Stange and coauthors describe the Heart Healthy Ohio Initiative, a statewide effort to improve cardiovascular health by supporting primary care practices in adopting evidence-based approaches to managing risk factors such as high blood pressure.
The initiative was created in response to Ohio’s high rates of cardiovascular disease and the persistent gap between what research shows works and what is routinely implemented in everyday clinical care. The authors reported overall improvements in blood pressure control across participating practices, with particularly notable gains in rural and uninsured populations. This initiative is an example of how broad partnership of academic institutions, health improvement organizations, clinicians, and state-level partners came together to build a cooperative quality-improvement infrastructure.
