Costs of the 'Hartslag Limburg' community heart health intervention

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the costs of community programmes to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The present study calculated the economic costs of all interventions within a Dutch community programme called Hartslag Limburg, in such a way as to facilitate generalisation to other countries. It also calculated the difference between the economic costs and the costs incurred by the coordinating institution. METHODS: Hartslag Limburg was a large-scale community programme that consisted of many interventions to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The target population consisted of all inhabitants of the region (n = 180.000). Special attention was paid to reach persons with a low socio-economic status. Costs were calculated using the guidelines for economic evaluation in health care. An overview of the material and staffing input involved was drawn up for every single intervention, and volume components were attached to each intervention component. These data were gathered during to the implementation of the intervention. Finally, the input was valued, using Dutch price levels for 2004. RESULTS: The economic costs of the interventions that were implemented within the five-year community programme (n = 180,000) were calculated to be about €900,000. €555,000 was spent on interventions to change people's exercise patterns, €250,000 on improving nutrition, €50,000 on smoking cessation, and €45,000 on lifestyle in general. The coordinating agency contributed about 10% to the costs of the interventions. Other institutions that were part of the programme's network and external subsidy providers contributed the other 90% of the costs. CONCLUSION: The current study calculated the costs of a community programme in a detailed and systematic way, allowing the costs to be easily adapted to other countries and regions. The study further showed that the difference between economic costs and the costs incurred by the coordinating agency can be very large. Cost sharing was facilitated by the unique approach used in the Hartslag Limburg programme

Effect of 5-year community intervention Hartslag Limburg on cardiovascular risk factors.

BACKGROUND: A widely advocated strategy in public health is community-based health promotion. The aim of this study was to investigate the net effect of a cardiovascular disease prevention program (Hartslag Limburg) on cardiovascular risk factors after 5 years of intervention. DESIGN: Cohort study comparing 5-year mean change in risk factors between the intervention and reference area. The statistical analyses for the study were performed in 2005. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: In 1998, 3000 subjects (aged 25 to 70) from the intervention area and 895 subjects from a reference area participated in the baseline measurement. Of these, 2414 intervention subjects and 758 reference subjects completed the follow-up measurement in 2003. INTERVENTION: Hartslag Limburg is an integrative community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program promoting a healthy lifestyle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, serum glucose (nonfasting), and serum total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. RESULTS: During the 5-year follow-up, risk factors changed unfavorably in the reference group, whereas changes were less pronounced or absent in the intervention group. The adjusted difference in mean change in risk factors between intervention and reference group was significant (p<0.05) for BMI: -0.36 kg/m(2) in men and -0.25 kg/m(2) in women; waist circumference -2.9 cm in men and -2.1 cm in women; systolic blood pressure: -7.8 mmHg in men and -5.5 mmHg in women; total cholesterol 0.11 mmol/L in women and finally serum glucose -0.23 mmol/L in women. CONCLUSIONS: Hartslag Limburg succeeded in reducing-and in some cases, preventing-age- and time-related increase in BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, and, in women, nonfasting glucose concentration