# Healthy Hearts in Manufacturing: Improving Cardiovascular Care in Worksite Health Clinics

> **NIH AHRQ R18** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $400,000

## Abstract

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and contributes to more than
$320 billion annually in health care costs and lost productivity. Manufacturing communities,
many of which are rural, have significantly higher rates of smoking, obesity, physical inactivity,
diabetes, and cardiovascular deaths, compared to other communities. Similarly, manufacturing
employment is associated with higher rates of hypertension and smoking. Two-thirds of
manufacturing workers are male, and manufacturing workers are, on average, older than
workers in other industries.
Many large manufacturers provide health services to employees, spouses, dependents, and
retirees through worksite health clinics, particularly in areas where there are shortages of
primary care providers. Given their potential reach into manufacturing communities, worksite
health clinics are well positioned to address deficiencies in small and rural communities.
In this study, Healthy Hearts in Manufacturing (HHM), we propose to examine the use of
worksite health clinics as a vehicle for improving cardiovascular care in manufacturing
communities. We will adapt a package of evidence-based interventions related to hypertension
and tobacco cessation, implemented with evidence-based supports, including on-site practice
facilitation, health information technology support, and data feedback and benchmarking. In
prior grants from AHRQ, our team has successfully implemented these cardiovascular
interventions in small primary care physician practices.
The specific aims are to: (1) Contextually adapt, for worksite clinics, evidence-based
interventions for cardiovascular disease care, previously designed for implementation in small
primary care practices; (2) Implement HHM in 12 randomly selected worksite clinics, identify
facilitators and barriers to sustainable maintenance of HHM, and test whether HHM improves
hypertension control and tobacco screening and cessation intervention; and (3) Estimate the
budget impact of HHM and the potential health care savings to companies and Medicare.
This study is innovative in its use of worksite health clinics as a means to improve care for a
hard-to-reach, disproportionally rural population with high rates of smoking and chronic illness. It
will also be a first effort to report on quality measures from worksite health clinics. Results may
reveal an economically sustainable quality improvement strategy to address heart health for an
at-risk population. The study will produce findings, tools, materials, and lessons that could aid
other efforts to implement evidence-based quality improvement in worksite health clinics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768103
- **Project number:** 1R18HS028782-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Megan McHugh
- **Activity code:** R18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $400,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768103

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768103, Healthy Hearts in Manufacturing: Improving Cardiovascular Care in Worksite Health Clinics (1R18HS028782-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768103. Licensed CC0.

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