Rapid Evaluations of Lifestyle Intervention Programs that Address Hypertension Control and Cardiovascular Health

[CDC/NCCDPHP/DHDSP]

In an 18-month project, TTi worked with CDC’s Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) to complete evaluations of three separate programs, distributed across the U.S., that focused on changing lifestyle behaviors (particularly diet and exercise) as a means of reducing hypertension. An experimental design was not possible because the programs were fully implemented and interested participants could not ethically be randomized to no intervention. Instead, TTi designed and implemented a pre-post observational design in which measures of hypertension, other biomarkers related to cardiovascular health, and behavioral measures were compared from baseline to existing follow-up time points within each program. In addition to these quantitative participant outcomes, the evaluations included qualitative interviews with program staff and assessment of direct program costs for implementation and replication. Deliverables to DHDSP included site-specific evaluation reports with both quantitative and qualitative results, as well.