Do you want to make your community healthier? Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care can help your members manage their blood pressure and live healthier lives. Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care is one program of the EmPowered to Serve movement, a “megacommunity” of individuals from the faith-based sector, government, non-profit organizations and corporations focused on improving health in multicultural communities. Faith-based organizations play critical roles in creating a culture of health and driving improved health in the community.
Before implementing Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care, work with your team to establish goals to ensure that the program makes a measurable impact on your organization’s health and to help evaluate the overall success of the program.
Recruitment Goals
Your recruitment goals will depend on several factors including the size of your community, available resources, and participants’ health.
Recruiting Participants: Recruiting 5% to 10% of your members is a good starting point, but you may be more or less aggressive to better fit your members’ needs. Anyone can participate, including those who are pre-hypertensive (120-139/80-89 mm Hg), hypertensive (140/90 mm Hg or higher), and those who have normal blood pressure (less than 120/80 mm Hg) and simply want to track their blood pressure over time.
Recruiting Community Partners: The success of Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care depends on engaging community partners. Try to partner with at least one organization that can help your participants reach their goals. For example, you could reach out to a local healthcare clinic, retail pharmacy or fitness center. Information about additional partners and resources can be found at EmPoweredtoServe.org.
Recruiting Volunteer Health Mentors: Engaging at least one Volunteer Health Mentor who can connect with participants in-person, via email or by phone at least twice a month is ideal. Anyone in your organization who is passionate about the program can be a mentor. Mentors support accountability, including helping participants set goals and reminding them to check their blood pressure. Additionally, EmPoweredtoServe.org offers tools for creating or strengthening a health ministry for your organization.
Blood Pressure Management Goals
By encouraging participants to measure their blood pressure at least 8 times over the course of four consecutive months, taking needed medications as prescribed and making lifestyle changes with support from Volunteer Health Mentors and community partners, your members should successfully decrease their blood pressure. The AHA’s goal is to have at least 65% of participants control their blood pressure. You can adjust your goal to fit your needs, but aiming for at least 50% of your participants to have their blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg after four months is ideal.
NEXT: Select Your Measurement and Reporting Tool
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Goal Tracker (PDF)
Understanding and Managing High Blood Pressure Patient Guide (PDF)
High Blood Pressure Information