Since small, minority-owned businesses generally are neglected in traditional worksite health promotion campaigns and rarely are able to provide health benefits, Operation Health 27610 was formed as a partnership between Strengthening the Black Family, Inc., a community-based organization, and WakeMed, the largest medical center in Wake County, North Carolina to address cardivascular disease in the predominantly African-American community of Southeast Raleigh. In a type of screening program that has not been previously described, 30 African-American owned businesses, ranging in size from 1 to 40 employees (mean=9.2), 98 employees (38% of potential participants) engaged in clinical screening for risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Fifty-two percent of those screened had one or more risk factors for CVD and for the majority, these findings were newly discovered. Operation Health maintained active personal, telephone, and mail contact with those at risk in order to facilitate a follow-up with a physician, paid for by the project. In addition, the project contacted participating businesses regularly to offer CVD material and answer questions. Nevertheless, only 53% of those at risk visited a physician within 2 years of screening. Reasons cited included lack of time, fear of uncovering undesired information about their health, and difficulty working appointment systems. This unique intervention with small, African-American owned businesses uncovered a population with a high prevalence of CVD risk factors, making this a potentially effective screening strategy. At the same time, additional research is needed to understand the non-financial barriers to follow-up and ongoing care.
Learning Objectives: 1.Participants will analyze the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a population of employees in small African-American owned businesses. 2. Participants will articulate barriers to participation and then follow-up care in a population where the risks for cardiovascular prevalent. 3. Participants will identify barriers to participation by small businesses in health promotion programs.
Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Minority Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.