Capacity building
The North Carolina Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (HDSP) focuses its’ efforts primarily on secondary prevention. A top priority for the Program is to encourage and facilitate environmental and policy changes that will further the goals of HDSP and improve care for heart disease and stroke in North Carolina . As a part of these efforts, from May 2004 to December 2004, the North Carolina Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program conducted a study of physicians and other healthcare providers at various health sites in the State of North Carolina . The study targeted a wide range of health settings including private practices, academic medical centers and community health centers. Primary care and heart disease/stroke related specialists were chosen for inclusion in the study. The purpose of the survey was to determine the existence of formal policies for secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke at health sites in North Carolina , and to identify areas where the HDSP Program could be of assistance in improving systems of care in the state.
North Carolina Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program funded a project to survey in-patient medical facilities in North Carolina regarding their stroke treatment and prevention programs and the availability of specific diagnostic tests and procedures. A single page survey was mailed to the medical center directors at each in-patient medical facility in North Carolina . Results were obtained from all facilities in the state (100% response rate). The first survey occurred in 1998. Five years later, a second survey occurred in order to determine changes in these services over the five-year period. The results revealed a lack of facilities with the capabilities to provide emergency stroke treatments in entire regions of the state. These data are critical for any plans to organize services on a state-wide basis. Attached are publications that describe this project in much greater detail and include a copy of the survey.
