Chronic Disease Prevention and Control

Tobacco is associated with six of the top 10 leading causes of death including cancer, heart disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and influenza/pneumonia.

Some of these diseases and conditions are more common in certain groups in Washington State including African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, lesbian, gay or bisexual adults, and adults from lower income households. These groups also have disproportionately high rates of tobacco use.

The rate of dental caries among third-graders in the state does not meet the Health People 2020 goal for children ages six to nine. This has broad implications for not only oral health, but general health, over the life span. This resource calls out the importance of a Life Course approach to oral health in our efforts improve population health.

Oral health is inseparable from overall, systemic health. Oral diseases impact systemic health and quality of life. 

Obesity

Over a quarter of the adult population in Washington State is considered obese. Adult obesity rates vary among Washington's counties, ranging from 13% to 46%. Adults who are obese or overweight are more likely to develop a number of serious diseases and to die at younger ages than people who are not obese or overweight.

ACEs

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refers to traumatic events experienced in childhood that impact health over the lifespan. These include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, and/or family dysfunction. Learn more about specific ACEs linked to negative health outcomes in adulthood, including: experiencing homelessness, community violence, discrimination, and deportation or migration.

ALL “GREAT 8” advice sheets (8 pages)

The Great 8 Cardiovascular and Diabetes Healthy Heart Behaviors are recommended healthy behaviors for patients.

1. Be active
2. Eat well
3. Practice wellness
4. Check your blood pressure
5. Understand your blood sugar numbers
6. Know your cholesterol levels
7. Steer clear of smoking/vaping
8. Follow your doctor's recommendations

Report and Recommendations from the Bree Collaborative

Treatment of pain varies widely between systems and clinicians with high financial and human cost. Moving to a collaborative or team-based approach to managing complex pain has been shown to result in better patient outcomes.

However, most approaches to pain management including chronic opioid therapy involved siloed health care providers. This workgroup met from January 2018 to January 2019 and defined minimum standards for:

A Team-Based Approach to Improving Opioid Management in Primary Care

This website introduces the Six Building Blocks, provides tools and resources for improving care, and offers implementation guidance. The Six Building Blocks can help anyone who is interested in improving the care of patients using long-term opioid therapy.

Living tobacco free saves money and increases positive health outcomes.  To learn more, see the Cigarette Smoking infographic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This guide includes the following:

This guide is for clinicians features a listing of process improvements that ambulatory clinical settings can implement as they seek optimal hypertension control.