Companies in NS get heart smart

CMAJ 2000;162:1190

"We are trying to come up with a comprehensive study that looks at clinical effectiveness and also very real issues for employers like productivity and morale," says Makrides, director of the Atlantic Health and Wellness Institute in Halifax. The project will also assess return on investment.

More than 3000 employees from companies such as Nova Scotia Power, the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission and the Halifax Regional Municipality are now lining up to have their blood pressure checked, their body-mass index recorded, their cholesterol measured and their risk factors for heart disease identified. Those with at least 2 risk factors that can be modified through lifestyle changes will become part of a control group or a treatment group that participates in a 12-week health-and-wellness program. "These are the programs that are needed now," notes Makrides. "We need to combat chronic disease by exercising, eating healthy and reducing body fat. The answer is to get health and wellness programs right into those places where people work."

Project Impact, which will cost approximately $750 000 to implement — funding is provided by a 3-year grant from an insurance company and drug company — is one of the first in the country to assess the effect of health and wellness intervention on employees' health, their quality of life and their overall satisfaction, as well as the cost/benefit to employers.

Although it is too early to report results, pre-screening data indicate that the percentage of people in Nova Scotia with risk factors is similar to the proportion found in other heart health studies, with one notable exception: the proportion of obese people is much higher. "Upwards of 60% of the population here is obese," says Makrides. "The national average is 35%." — Donalee Moulton, Halifax

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