Heart disease and stroke are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States, respectively. Employers have a unique opportunity to promote cardiovascular health, because >60% of US adults are employed, and most spend half of their waking hours at work. Despite the scope of the opportunity, <1 in 5 businesses implement evidence-based, comprehensive workplace health programs, policies, and practices. Integrated, systems-based workplace health approaches that harness data science and technology may have the potential to reach more employees and be cost-effective for employers. To evaluate the role of the workplace in promoting cardiovascular health across the lifespan, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Heart Association convened a workshop on March 7, 2019, to share best practices, and to discuss current evidence and knowledge gaps, practical application, and dissemination of the evidence, and the need for innovation in workplace health research and practice. This report presents the broad themes discussed at the workshop and considerations for promoting worker cardiovascular health, including opportunities for future research.

In an effort to improve health and business outcomes, workplaces are supplementing traditional physical activity programs focused on individual behavior change with policies designed to change workplace culture. However, confusion exists about how to define workplace policies. In practice, worksites implement programs, benefit designs, and environmental strategies and describe these as policies. The purpose of this essay is to provide a definition for worksite policy and discuss how policy approaches can support employers’ efforts to promote physical activity. We also describe worksite physical activity policies that employers can adopt and implement.

Context: Cardiovascular disease in the U.S. accounted for healthcare cost and productivity losses of $330 billion in 2013–2014 and diabetes accounted for $327 billion in 2017. The impact is disproportionate on minority and low-SES populations. This paper examines the available evidence on cost, economic benefit, and cost effectiveness of interventions that engage community health workers to prevent cardiovascular disease, prevent type 2 diabetes, and manage type 2 diabetes. Evidence acquisition: Literature from the inception of databases through July 2016 was searched for studies with economic information, yielding nine studies in cardiovascular disease prevention, seven studies in type 2 diabetes prevention, and 13 studies in type 2 diabetes management. Analyses were done in 2017. Monetary values are reported in 2016 U.S. dollars. Evidence synthesis: The median intervention cost per patient per year was $329 for cardiovascular disease prevention, $600 for type 2 diabetes prevention, and $571 for type 2 diabetes management. The median change in healthcare cost per patient per year was –$82 for cardiovascular disease prevention and –$72 for type 2 diabetes management. For type 2 diabetes prevention, one study saw no change and another reported –$1,242 for healthcare cost. One study reported a favorable 1.8 return on investment from engaging community health workers for cardiovascular disease prevention. Median cost per quality-adjusted life year gained was $17,670 for cardiovascular disease prevention, $17,138 (mean) for type 2 diabetes prevention, and $35,837 for type 2 diabetes management. Conclusions: Interventions engaging community health workers are cost effective for cardiovascular disease prevention and type 2 diabetes management, based on a conservative $50,000 benchmark for cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. Two cost per quality-adjusted life year estimates for type 2 diabetes prevention were far below the $50,000 benchmark.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing interest in the NIOSH Total Worker Health program, specifically in the process of designing and implementing safer, health-promoting work and workplaces. A Total Worker Health (TWH) Research Methodology Workshop was convened to discuss research methods and future needs. METHODS: Twenty-six experts in occupational safety and health and related fields reviewed and discussed current methodological and measurement issues and those showing promise. RESULTS: TWH intervention studies face the same challenges as other workplace intervention studies and some unique ones. Examples are provided of different approaches and their applications to TWH intervention studies, and desired developments in the TWH literature. CONCLUSIONS: This report discusses and outlines principles important to building the TWH intervention research base. Rigorous, valid methodologic, and measurement approaches are needed for TWH intervention as well as for basic/etiologic, translational, and surveillance research.

CONTEXT: The health and economic burden of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is substantial. This systematic review evaluated the economic evidence of self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring interventions to control hypertension. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The literature search from database inception to March 2015 identified 22 studies for inclusion with three types of interventions: SMBP used alone, SMBP with additional support, and SMBP within team-based care (TBC). Two formulae were used to convert reductions in systolic BP (SBP) to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to produce cost per QALY saved. All analyses were conducted in 2015, with estimates adjusted to 2014 U.S. dollars. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Median costs of intervention were $60 and $174 per person for SMBP alone and SMBP with additional support, respectively, and $732 per person per year for SMBP within TBC. SMBP alone and SMBP with additional support reduced healthcare cost per person per year from outpatient visits and medication (medians $148 and $3, respectively; median follow-up, 12-13 months). SMBP within TBC exhibited an increase in healthcare cost (median, $369 per person per year; median follow-up, 18 months). SMBP alone varied from cost saving to a maximum cost of $144,000 per QALY saved, with two studies reporting an increase in SBP. The two translated median costs per QALY saved were $2,800 and $4,000 for SMBP with additional support and $7,500 and $10,800 for SMBP within TBC. CONCLUSIONS: SMBP monitoring interventions with additional support or within TBC are cost effective. Cost effectiveness of SMBP used alone could not be determined.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between worksite organizational characteristics (size, industrial sector, leadership commitment, and organizational supports) and integrated approaches to protecting and promoting worker health implemented in smaller enterprises. METHODS: We analyzed web-based survey data of Human Resource Managers at 114 smaller enterprises (<750 employees) to identify organizational factors associated with levels of integrated approaches among their worksites. RESULTS: The companies' mean integration score was 13.6 (SD = 9.6) of a possible 44. In multivariate analyses, having a safety committee (P = 0.035) and top leadership support for health promotion (HP) (P = 0.004) were positively associated with higher integration scores. CONCLUSIONS: Smaller enterprises in one U.S. region have relatively low levels of implementing integrated safety and promotion approaches. Having a safety committee and leadership support for HP may be important contributors to implementing integrated approaches in smaller enterprises.

OBJECTIVE: This review evaluates costs and benefits associated with acquiring, implementing, and operating clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methods developed for the Community Guide were used to review CDSS literature covering the period from January 1976 to October 2015. Twenty-one studies were identified for inclusion. RESULTS: It was difficult to draw a meaningful estimate for the cost of acquiring and operating CDSSs to prevent CVD from the available studies (n = 12) due to considerable heterogeneity. Several studies (n = 11) indicated that health care costs were averted by using CDSSs but many were partial assessments that did not consider all components of health care. Four cost-benefit studies reached conflicting conclusions about the net benefit of CDSSs based on incomplete assessments of costs and benefits. Three cost-utility studies indicated inconsistent conclusions regarding cost-effectiveness based on a conservative $50,000 threshold. DISCUSSION: Intervention costs were not negligible, but specific estimates were not derived because of the heterogeneity of implementation and reporting metrics. Expected economic benefits from averted health care cost could not be determined with confidence because many studies did not fully account for all components of health care. CONCLUSION: We were unable to conclude whether CDSSs for CVD prevention is either cost-beneficial or cost-effective. Several evidence gaps are identified, most prominently a lack of information about major drivers of cost and benefit, a lack of standard metrics for the cost of CDSSs, and not allowing for useful life of a CDSS that generally extends beyond one accounting period.

There is increasing recognition of the value added by integrating traditionally separate efforts to protect and promote worker safety and health. This paper presents an innovative conceptual model to guide research on determinants of worker safety and health and to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of integrated approaches to promoting and protecting worker health. This model is rooted in multiple theories and the premise that the conditions of work are important determinants of individual safety and health outcomes and behaviors, and outcomes important to enterprises such as absence and turnover. Integrated policies, programs and practices simultaneously address multiple conditions of work, including the physical work environment and the organization of work (e.g., psychosocial factors, job tasks and demands). Findings from two recent studies conducted in Boston and Minnesota (2009-2015) illustrate the application of this model to guide social epidemiological research. This paper focuses particular attention on the relationships of the conditions of work to worker health-related behaviors, musculoskeletal symptoms, and occupational injury; and to the design of integrated interventions in response to specific settings and conditions of work of small and medium size manufacturing businesses, based on a systematic assessment of priorities, needs, and resources within an organization. This model provides an organizing framework for both research and practice by specifying the causal pathways through which work may influence health outcomes, and for designing and testing interventions to improve worker safety and health that are meaningful for workers and employers, and responsive to that setting's conditions of work.

OBJECTIVES: To describe (a) a conceptual approach, (b) measurement tools and data collection processes, (c) characteristics of an integrated feedback report and action plan, and (d) experiences of three companies with an integrated measurement approach to worker safety and health. METHODS: Three companies implemented measurement tools designed to create an integrated view of health protection and promotion based on organizational- and individual-level assessments. Feedback and recommended actions were presented following assessments at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Measurement processes included group dialogue sessions, walk-through, online surveys, and focus groups. RESULTS: The approach and measurement tools generated actionable recommendations and documented changes in the physical (eg, safety hazards) and psychosocial (eg, health and safety culture) work environment between baseline and 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The measurement tools studied were feasible, acceptable, and meaningful to companies in the SafeWell study.

PURPOSE: Develop strategic priorities to guide future physical activity surveillance in the United States. METHODS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine convened a Scientific Roundtable of physical activity and measurement experts. Participants summarized the current state of aerobic physical activity surveillance for adults, focusing on practice and research needs in three areas: 1) behavior, 2) human movement, and 3) community supports. Needs and challenges for each area were identified. At the conclusion of the meeting, experts identified one overarching strategy and five strategic priorities to guide future surveillance. RESULTS: The identified overarching strategy was to develop a national plan for physical activity surveillance similar to the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan for promotion. The purpose of the plan would be to enhance coordination and collaboration within and between sectors, such as transportation and public health, and to address specific strategic priorities identified at the Roundtable. These strategic priorities were: 1) identify and prioritize physical activity constructs, 2) assess the psychometric properties of instruments for physical activity surveillance, 3) provide training and technical assistance for those collecting, analyzing, or interpreting surveillance data, 4) explore accessing data from alternative sources, and 5) improve communication, translation, and dissemination about estimates of physical activity from surveillance systems. CONCLUSION: This Roundtable provided strategic priorities for physical activity surveillance in the United States. A first step is to develop a national plan for physical activity surveillance that would provide an operating framework from which to execute these priorities.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct validation and dimensionality analyses for an existing measure of the integration of worksite health protection and health promotion approaches. METHODS: A survey of small to medium size employers located in the United States was conducted between October 2013 and March 2014 (N = 115). A survey of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative parents was also conducted from June to July 2014 (N = 140). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine the dimensionality of the Integration Score in each sample. RESULTS: Using EFA, both samples indicated the presence of one unified factor. The VA survey indicated that customization improves the relevance of the Integration Score for different types of organizations. CONCLUSIONS: The Integration Score is a valid index for assessing the integration of worksite health protection and health promotion approaches and is customizable based on industry. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Integration Score may be used as a single metric for assessing the integration of worksite health protection and health promotion approaches in differing work contexts.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension and hyperlipidemia are major cardiovascular disease risk factors. To modify them, patients often need to adopt healthier lifestyles and adhere to prescribed medications. However, patients' adherence to recommended treatments has been suboptimal. Reducing out-of-pocket costs (ROPC) to patients may improve medication adherence and consequently improve health outcomes. This Community Guide systematic review examined the effectiveness of ROPC for medications prescribed for patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. METHODS: We assessed effectiveness and economics of ROPC for medications to treat hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or both. Per Community Guide review methods, reviewers identified, evaluated, and summarized available evidence published from January 1980 through July 2015. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were included in the analysis. ROPC interventions resulted in increased medication adherence for patients taking blood pressure and cholesterol medications by a median of 3.0 percentage points; proportion achieving 80% adherence to medication increased by 5.1 percentage points. Blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes also improved. Nine studies were included in the economic review, with a median intervention cost of $172 per person per year and a median change in health care cost of -$127 per person per year. CONCLUSION: ROPC for medications to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia is effective in increasing medication adherence, and, thus, improving blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes. Most ROPC interventions are implemented in combination with evidence-based health care interventions such as team-based care with medication counseling. An overall conclusion about the economics of the intervention could not be reached with the small body of inconsistent cost-benefit evidence.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a highly prevalent and costly disease. Studies indicate that combined diet and physical activity promotion programs can prevent type 2 diabetes among persons at increased risk. PURPOSE: To systematically evaluate the evidence on cost, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefit estimates of diet and physical activity promotion programs. DATA SOURCES: Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, EconLit, and CINAHL through 7 April 2015. STUDY SELECTION: English-language studies from high-income countries that provided data on cost, cost-effectiveness, or cost-benefit ratios of diet and physical activity promotion programs with at least 2 sessions over at least 3 months delivered to persons at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. DATA EXTRACTION: Dual abstraction and assessment of relevant study details. DATA SYNTHESIS: Twenty-eight studies were included. Costs were expressed in 2013 U.S. dollars. The median program cost per participant was $653. Costs were lower for group-based programs (median, $417) and programs implemented in community or primary care settings (median, $424) than for the U.S. DPP (Diabetes Prevention Program) trial and the DPP Outcomes Study ($5881). Twenty-two studies assessed the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of the programs. From a health system perspective, 16 studies reported a median ICER of $13 761 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) saved. Group-based programs were more cost-effective (median, $1819 per QALY) than those that used individual sessions (median, $15 846 per QALY). No cost-benefit studies were identified. LIMITATION: Information on recruitment costs and cost-effectiveness of translational programs implemented in community and primary care settings was limited. CONCLUSION: Diet and physical activity promotion programs to prevent type 2 diabetes are cost-effective among persons at increased risk. Costs are lower when programs are delivered to groups in community or primary care settings. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: None.

CONTEXT: High blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, the leading cause of death in the U.S., and a substantial national burden through lost productivity and medical care. A recent Community Guide systematic review found strong evidence of effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure control. The objective of the present review is to determine from the economic literature whether team-based care for blood pressure control is cost beneficial or cost effective. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Electronic databases of papers published January 1980-May 2012 were searched to find economic evaluations of team-based care interventions to improve blood pressure outcomes, yielding 31 studies for inclusion. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: In analyses conducted in 2012, intervention cost, healthcare cost averted, benefit-to-cost ratios, and cost effectiveness were abstracted from the studies. The quality of estimates for intervention and healthcare cost from each study were assessed using three elements: intervention focus on blood pressure control, incremental estimates in the intervention group relative to a control group, and inclusion of major cost-driving elements in estimates. Intervention cost per unit reduction in systolic blood pressure was converted to lifetime intervention cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) saved using algorithms from published trials. CONCLUSIONS: Team-based care to improve blood pressure control is cost effective based on evidence that 26 of 28 estimates of $/QALY gained from ten studies were below a conservative threshold of $50,000. This finding is salient to recent U.S. healthcare reforms and coordinated patient-centered care through formation of Accountable Care Organizations.

CONTEXT: Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) can help clinicians assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and manage CVD risk factors by providing tailored assessments and treatment recommendations based on individual patient data. The goal of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of CDSSs in improving screening for CVD risk factors, practices for CVD-related preventive care services such as clinical tests and prescribed treatments, and management of CVD risk factors. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: An existing systematic review (search period, January 1975-January 2011) of CDSSs for any condition was initially identified. Studies of CDSSs that focused on CVD prevention in that review were combined with studies identified through an updated search (January 2011-October 2012). Data analysis was conducted in 2013. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 45 studies qualified for inclusion in the review. Improvements were seen for recommended screening and other preventive care services completed by clinicians, recommended clinical tests completed by clinicians, and recommended treatments prescribed by clinicians (median increases of 3.8, 4.0, and 2.0 percentage points, respectively). Results were inconsistent for changes in CVD risk factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1C levels. CONCLUSIONS: CDSSs are effective in improving clinician practices related to screening and other preventive care services, clinical tests, and treatments. However, more evidence is needed from implementation of CDSSs within the broad context of comprehensive service delivery aimed at reducing CVD risk and CVD-related morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct validation analyses for a new measure of the integration of worksite health protection and health promotion approaches developed in earlier research. METHODS: A survey of small- to medium-sized employers located in the United States was conducted between October 2013 and March 2014 (n = 111). Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to assess reliability, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess convergent validity. RESULTS: The integration score was positively associated with the measures of occupational safety and health and health promotion activities/policies-supporting its convergent validity (Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.32 to 0.47). Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.94, indicating excellent reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The integration score seems to be a promising tool for assessing integration of health promotion and health protection. Further work is needed to test its dimensionality and validate its use in other samples.

OBJECTIVE: We explored associations between organizational factors (size, sector, leadership support, and organizational capacity) and implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) and worksite health promotion (WHP) programs in smaller businesses. METHODS: We conducted a web-based survey of human resource managers of 117 smaller businesses (<750 employees) and analyzed factors associated with implementation of OSH and WHP among these sites using multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Implementation of OSH, but not WHP activities, was related to industry sector (P = 0.003). Leadership support was positively associated with OSH activities (P < 0.001), but negatively associated with WHP implementation. Organizational capacity (budgets, staffing, and committee involvement) was associated with implementation of both OSH and WHP. Size was related to neither. CONCLUSIONS: Leadership support and specifically allocated resources reflecting that support are important factors for implementing OSH and WHP in smaller organizations.

CONTEXT: Uncontrolled hypertension remains a widely prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the U.S. team-based care, established by adding new staff or changing the roles of existing staff such as nurses and pharmacists to work with a primary care provider and the patient. Team-based care has the potential to improve the quality of hypertension management. The goal of this Community Guide systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure (BP) outcomes. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: An existing systematic review (search period, January 1980-July 2003) assessing team-based care for BP control was supplemented with a Community Guide update (January 2003-May 2012). For the Community Guide update, two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed quality of eligible studies. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Twenty-eight studies in the prior review (1980-2003) and an additional 52 studies from the Community Guide update (2003-2012) qualified for inclusion. Results from both bodies of evidence suggest that team-based care is effective in improving BP outcomes. From the update, the proportion of patients with controlled BP improved (median increase=12 percentage points); systolic BP decreased (median reduction=5.4 mmHg); and diastolic BP also decreased (median reduction=1.8 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS: Team-based care increased the proportion of people with controlled BP and reduced both systolic and diastolic BP, especially when pharmacists and nurses were part of the team. Findings are applicable to a range of U.S. settings and population groups. Implementation of this multidisciplinary approach will require health system-level organizational changes and could be an important element of the medical home.

OBJECTIVE: To offer a definition of an "integrated" approach to worker health and operationalize this definition using indicators of the extent to which integrated efforts are implemented in an organization. METHODS: Guided by the question-How will we know it when we see it?-we reviewed relevant literature to identify available definitions and metrics, and used a modified Delphi process to review and refine indicators and measures of integrated approaches. RESULTS: A definition of integrated approaches to worker health is proposed and accompanied by indicators and measures that may be used by researchers, employers, and workers. CONCLUSIONS: A shared understanding of what is meant by integrated approaches to protect and promote worker health has the potential to improve dialogue among researchers and facilitate the research-to-practice process.

OBJECTIVE: To assess primary care physicians' (PCPs) knowledge of energy balance related guidelines and the association with sociodemographic characteristics and clinical care practices. METHOD: As part of the 2008 U.S. nationally representative National Survey of Energy Balance Related Care among Primary Care Physicians (EB-PCP), 1776 PCPs from four specialties who treated adults (n=1060) or children and adolescents (n=716) completed surveys on sociodemographic information, knowledge of energy balance guidelines, and clinical care practices. RESULTS: EB-PCP response rate was 64.5%. For PCPs treating children, knowledge of guidelines for healthy BMI percentile, physical activity, and fruit and vegetables intake was 36.5%, 27.0%, and 62.9%, respectively. For PCPs treating adults, knowledge of guidelines for overweight, obesity, physical activity, and fruit and vegetables intake was 81.4%, 81.3%, 70.9%, and 63.5%, respectively. Generally, younger, female physicians were more likely to exhibit correct knowledge. Knowledge of weight-related guidelines was associated with assessment of body mass index (BMI) and use of BMI-for-age growth charts. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of energy balance guidelines among PCPs treating children is low, among PCPs treating adults it appeared high for overweight and obesity-related clinical guidelines and moderate for physical activity and diet, and was mostly unrelated to clinical practices among all PCPs.

BACKGROUND: Many health behaviors and physiologic indicators can be used to estimate one's likelihood of illness or premature death. Methods have been developed to assess this risk, most notably the use of a health-risk assessment or biometric screening tool. This report provides recommendations on the effectiveness of interventions that use an Assessment of Health Risks with Feedback (AHRF) when used alone or as part of a broader worksite health promotion program to improve the health of employees. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The Guide to Community Preventive Services' methods for systematic reviews were used to evaluate the effectiveness of AHRF when used alone and when used in combination with other intervention components. Effectiveness was assessed on the basis of changes in health behaviors and physiologic estimates, but was also informed by changes in risk estimates, healthcare service use, and worker productivity. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The review team identified strong evidence of effectiveness of AHRF when used with health education with or without other intervention components for five outcomes. There is sufficient evidence of effectiveness for four additional outcomes assessed. There is insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness for others such as changes in body composition and fruit and vegetable intake. The team also found insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of AHRF when implemented alone. CONCLUSIONS: The results of these reviews indicate that AHRF is useful as a gateway intervention to a broader worksite health promotion program that includes health education lasting > or =1 hour or repeating multiple times during 1 year, and that may include an array of health promotion activities. These reviews form the basis of the recommendations by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services presented elsewhere in this supplement.