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All Ye Seeking Wisewoman

Oh, we all are seeking the wise woman. But the CDC has another take. The WISEWOMAN program is administered through CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP). The WISEWOMAN program provides low-income, under-insured or uninsured women with chronic disease risk factor screening, lifestyle programs, and referral services in an effort to prevent cardiovascular disease. The priority age group is women aged 40–64 years.

CDC funds 21 WISEWOMAN programs, which operate on the local level in states and tribal Organizations. WISEWOMAN programs provide standard preventive services including blood pressure and cholesterol testing. WISEWOMAN programs also offer testing for diabetes. Women are not just tested and referred, but can also take advantage of lifestyle programs that target poor nutrition and physical inactivity, such as healthy cooking classes, walking clubs, or lifestyle counseling. Women who smoke are encouraged to quit and are referred to proactive quit lines or quit-smoking classes. The interventions vary from program to program, but all are designed to promote lasting, healthy lifestyle changes.

Between 2008 and 2012, the WISEWOMAN program provided 170,319 screenings. From July 2011 to June 2012 the WISEWOMAN program reported 10,771 cases of high blood pressure, 7,372 cases of high cholesterol, 4,337 cases of diabetes, and 7,275 smokers among participants.

Read the full report here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.