# Tennessee Heart Health Network: Implementing Patient-Centered Practices in Primary Care to Improve Cardiovascular Health

> **NIH AHRQ U18** · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · 2021 · $1,519,716

## Abstract

Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of premature morbidity and mortality in the United States.
Tennessee ranks 3rd in the U.S. in CVD event rates, 6th in CVD mortality, and 5th in stroke mortality. The
state’s high prevalence of CVD is primarily linked to its disproportionate burden of CVD risk factors including
obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, and their associated modifiable health behaviors, including poor nutrition,
sedentary lifestyle, and tobacco use. Patient-centered medical home initiatives hold some promise for reducing
the burden of CVD in Tennessee. But these value-based purchasing endeavors have been insufficient by
themselves to support busy primary care practices in implementing patient-centered outcomes research
(PCOR) approaches that reach beyond the traditional doctor-patient visit. An insufficient pipeline of primary
care providers has made it even more critical to implement team-based care approaches that employ
telehealth and lay community health workers to engage patients in better self-care. Yet primary care providers
and their team members have little time, knowledge, or resources to identify and implement these proven and
financially sustainable PCOR evidence-based population health approaches. The goal of the Tennessee Heart
Health Network is to leverage existing infrastructure by identifying and implementing appropriate evidence-
based interventions to improve quality and outcomes of CVD care across Tennessee. We will particularly
target hypertension control and smoking cessation as two of the most potent CVD risk factors to reduce and/or
eliminate disparities in CVD outcomes and risks. We aim to: 1) Establish a statewide Cooperative external
quality improvement (QI) support infrastructure, 2) Build a Network of primary care practices and related
stakeholders who can utilize the Cooperative as a resource for QI support, 3) Develop a comprehensive,
multicomponent, evidence-based approach for a heart health improvement project to improve delivery of
PCOR and build internal improvement capacity, 4) Conduct a robust evaluation of all phases of the project, 5)
Disseminate interim findings, and 6) Integrate sustainability planning and develop a plan to maintain the
Cooperative and its Network of practices and professionals beyond the conclusion of the project. We expect to
help primary care practices implement PCOR findings for Tennessee’s priority populations (e.g. African
Americans with hypertension and people with obesity, diabetes, and CVD) to transform primary care and
measurably improve heart health care and outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170694
- **Project number:** 1U18HS027952-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** James E Bailey
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,519,716
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170694

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170694, Tennessee Heart Health Network: Implementing Patient-Centered Practices in Primary Care to Improve Cardiovascular Health (1U18HS027952-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170694. Licensed CC0.

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