State Program: Kansas
Capacity Building

The Kansas Department of Health began receiving funds from CDC in 2003 to support a state heart disease and stroke prevention program. . It also received CDC funding to implement a demonstration public health project that addresses program integration and systems change in primary care practice settings.

Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Kansas, accounting for 6,680 deaths or approximately 27% of the state's deaths in 2002. (National Vital Statistics Report 2004;53(5)).

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death, accounting for 1,845 deaths or approximately 7% of the state's deaths in 2002. (National Vital Statistics Report 2004;53(5)).

• According to Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey results, adults in Kansas reported having the following risk factors for heart disease and stroke:
  
  In 2005,
   
  • 24.2% had high blood pressure
  • 33.4% of those screened reported having high blood cholesterol

  In 2006,
   

  • 7.3% had diabetes
  • 20.0% were current smokers
  • 62.3% were overweight or obese (Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 25.0)
  • 22.6% reported no exercise in the prior 30 days

State Highlights

• The program has access to the strong and established partners of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Health Promotion. The partners include insurance companies, minority affairs agencies, national public health organizations, faith–based organizations, and various state departments. The partners have been very instrumental in the development of the burden document and the state plan.
   
• The Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Kansas burden document was published by the program in October 2005. This document is used to assign resources to develop appropriate heart disease and stroke databases, to gain access to data sources in order to comprehensively define the burden of heart disease and stroke, and to monitor heart disease and stroke trends across the state and in targeted geographic areas or populations disproportionately affected by heart disease and stroke. The burden document will be updated in the upcoming year.
   
• The Kansas Cardiovascular Health State Plan was published in October 2006 and outlines a comprehensive approach for reducing the burden of heart disease and stroke. The plan is intended to serve as a guide for those working in the areas of prevention, detection, and treatment of risk factors associated with heart attacks and strokes, and provides recommendations for implementing programs and policies that will ultimately lead to a heart-healthy and stroke free Kansas.
   
• The Community Initiative on Cardiovascular Health (CICV) consists of the Kansas Heart Disease and Stroke prevention program, the Missouri Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, and the Mid-America Coalition on Healthcare (MACHC), and have collaborated to implement a pilot worksite wellness project in the Kansas City metropolitan area involving 14 large (over 1,000 employees) and medium-sized (over 500 employees) employers. CICV is a four-phase project focusing on health, lifestyle and behavior issues of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and related risk factors.
   
• The Kansas Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program Web site can be accessed at http://www.kdheks.gov/cardio/index.htm. The Web site contains general heart disease and stroke information, including risk factors and signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke, as well as fact sheets and the burden document and state plan. Additional information will continue to be uploaded onto the Web site over the next few months.
   
• The Kansas Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program was awarded optional funding to provide a demonstration project. The project is a cardiovascular disease quality of care program that will address systems change for quality of care improvement in patients with high blood pressure in primary care clinics. This will be done by adding an integrated focus within the Diabetes Quality of Care Project for care of patients with high blood pressure. The added focus is expected to improve clinic process outcomes and quality care management for patients with high blood pressure. Broadening the Diabetes Quality of Care Project to include a hypertension quality of care component as a specific intervention directed toward non-diabetic patients with high blood pressure will utilize an established infrastructure to direct population-based care for people with high blood pressure.
   
• The Kansas Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program partnered with the Kansas Advisory Committee on Trauma to implement policies standardizing training for Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) in the six Kansas trauma regions. A survey of all 133 Kansas communication centers was conducted and an introduction letter with a survey was mailed to these centers. Out of 133 centers, 117 centers (88%) responded (94 centers that dispatch Emergency Medical Services, 10 centers that dispatch other types of services such as fire and law enforcement, and 13 centers that do not dispatch EMS or other services).

For general information on health in the state, visit the Kansas website at www.kdhe.state.ks.us/health.*

To view county–level data, visit our interactive map site at http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/library/maps/statemaps.htm.

 
*Links to non–Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
 

Page last reviewed: October 15, 2007
Page last modified: October 15, 2007
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion