Organization for a Community Cardiovascular Health Program: Experiences from the Minnesota Heart Health Program

The World Health Organization has emphasized the importance of community participation as a keystone of primary health care and in meeting their goal of health for all. This article reports on the first three years of experience in a community-based approach to cardiovascular health. The project involves three communities totaling almost a quarter of a million inhabitants with matched comparison communities. An extensive volunteer structure provides a dynamic partnership wih the education research group in bringing learning opportunities and enabling situations for the practice of heart healthy life styles in the total community. The project goal is to demonstrate reduced mortality and morbidity from educational interventions. The parti-cipative intervention model suggests a feasible alternative for future public health practice. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the process of community involvement must be built up so that communities can consistently com-municate their opinions and needs concerning health matters to national policy-makers. The synthesis of local priorities should eventually dictate national priorities. ’ While this ideal is far from the professional control evident in the United States health service structure, experience in a community approach to chronic disease prevention deserve