Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN)

The WISEWOMAN Program is administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and funds 21 WISEWOMAN projects to operate on the local level within states and tribal organization. The California WISEWOMAN Program helps underserved women reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) through timely, high quality screening, education and intervention for elevated cholesterol, glucose, and high blood pressure, as well as, education on the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke and when to call 911.

California's WISEWOMAN Program is called Heart of the Family or Corazón de la Familia, and is a part of the California Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program. The goal of this project is to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease in women who are also enrolled in Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts (CDP: EWC). These women are aged 40 - 64, have low income, and are uninsured or underinsured.

In California,

Among women, 37% of deaths are due to CVD -- CVD is the leading cause of death.
Women account for 53% of CVD-related hospitalizations and 51% of CVD-related deaths.

Sources: California CVD Update (2007); State of California, Department of Public Health, Death Records

Current program sites participating in Heart of the Family are:

Asian Pacific Health Care Ventures, Inc., Los Angeles County
Logan Heights Family Health Center of San Diego, San Diego County
North Park Family Health Center of San Diego, San Diego County
Northeast Valley Health Corporation, Los Angeles County
QueensCare Family Clinics, Los Angeles County
The Saban Free Clinic, Los Angeles County
Vista Community Clinic - Grapevine, San Diego County
Vista Community Clinic - Vale Terrace, San Diego County

As funding permits, expansion to other California locations is planned.

California's WISEWOMAN program has been identified by the Center of Excellence for Training and Research Translation as an effective intervention to help women prevent, delay and control cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases by eating healthy, increasing physical activity and ceasing tobacco use. For more information on California’s intervention, visit the Center of Excellence for Training and Research.

To learn more about the WISEWOMAN-Heart of the Family Program go to the WISEWOMAN Program Fact Sheet (PDF) Opens a new browser window. .

For more information on the nationwide WISEWOMAN program go to http://www.cdc.gov/wisewoman