Grant: Operating Grant

The most prevalent chronic health conditions are largely the product of interactions among a small set of well-established, modifiable causes, such as smoking, having a sedentary lifestyle, heavy drinking and high salt consumption. These chronic health conditions, notably obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, are on the rise, in Québec as in the rest of Canada. In order to combat this epidemic, the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP-Qc) will address these common problems by implementing a program in Québec designed to raise awareness of cardiovascular health and community resources available, encourage self-care, and optimize drug regimen. CHAP-Qc will build off of the success of a previous implementation of CHAP in other provinces. It is a patient-centred, interdisciplinary, multi-pronged, community-led CVD and stroke prevention and management program, designed to prevent and reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease and targeted at individuals 65 years old and over. The program has already been shown to significantly decrease hospitalization rates in the communities in which it was established, reduce participants blood pressure and CVD-related hospitalization costs. We propose to collaborate with Family Medicine Groups (FMGs) and community partners, so that the program can be adjusted to meet local needs. The main research question is: Among patients 65 years and over registered with urban and suburban Family Medicine Groups (FMGs) in Québec, does a highly organized, FMG-based program (CHAP) that combines offering blood pressure and cardiometabolic risk assessments with education, referral to community resources and identification of all new or uncontrolled hypertensive patients to FMG staff, compared to the absence of such a program, decrease hospital admissions for stroke, congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction (composite end-point) in patients 65 years and over one year following the intervention?