CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Volume 17 • Number 1 • Fall 2004

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WISEWOMAN Program Aims to Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease for Underserved Women

Community projects are innovative, comprehensive—and successful.

Heart disease is a major health problem for women. Disadvantaged women are particularly vulnerable to obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol—key risk factors for heart disease and stroke. CDC’s WISEWOMAN (Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation) program has been successful in reaching this population with innovative projects operated at the community level.

The mission of the WISEWOMAN program is to provide low-income, under- or uninsured 40- to 64-year-old women with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to improve diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle behaviors to prevent, delay, and control cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. It reaches the intended population, offers a comprehensive approach to behavioral change (including education, counseling, and culturally appropriate activities), and provides new knowledge on health disparities.

Evidence shows that WISEWOMAN is successful in responding to the needs of underserved women. During the past 3 years, WISEWOMAN has uncovered many conditions for the first time, including 2,700 cases of previously undiagnosed hypertension, 3,000 cases of high cholesterol, and 400 cases of diabetes. The women with these conditions would have been unaware of their risk factors if not for WISEWOMAN.

Community partnerships help strengthen WISEWOMAN projects. By pooling resources and sharing lessons learned, WISEWOMAN projects and their partners offer underserved women an array of health services they otherwise would not receive. In addition to offering screening, WISEWOMAN ensures access to quality education and skill-building opportunities for all women and promotes support groups to help women maintain healthy behaviors.

A recent issue of the Journal of Women’s Health (Vol. 13, No. 5) featuring the program describes the ways in which it makes a difference in women’s health. The journal issue includes articles on how to develop model programs, train staff members, and increase cultural competence. It also highlights program achievements such as the following:

• A Michigan WISEWOMAN project collaborates with the League of Women Voters and a local sporting goods store to provide discounted walking shoes to program participants.

• Twelve months after a Massachusetts project offered blood pressure screenings, the prevalence of high blood pressure dropped by 7%–9% among the underserved women who were screened.

• In Arizona, WISEWOMAN screenings resulted in an average decrease of 6–11 mg/dL in total cholesterol after 12 months.

The WISEWOMAN program is administered through CDC’s Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. To prevent cardiovascular disease, the program screens low-income, underinsured and uninsured women aged 40–64 years for chronic disease risk factors and provides lifestyle intervention and referral services. CDC funds 15 WISEWOMAN projects, which operate on the local level in states and tribal organizations. Projects provide standard preventive services including blood pressure and cholesterol testing, and help women develop a healthier diet, increase physical activity, and quit using tobacco.

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This page last reviewed August 12, 2004

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