The Effects of Chronic Disease in Wisconsin
Chronic diseases account for the greatest number of poor health conditions and increasing health care costs. Here are a couple of key statistics:
7 out of 10 leading causes of death in Wisconsin are due to chronic diseases, accounting for two out of every three deaths annually.1
More than 4 out of every 5 dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. are spent on people with one or more chronic conditions.2
Spotlight on Chronic Disease
The new Set Your Heart on Health toolkit, inspired by three Wisconsin communities, outlines implementation of preventive hypertension strategies that can be easily adapted to fit specific community needs.
The fourth version of the Wisconsin Worksite Wellness Resource Kit is now posted to the nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention section of this website. The kit shows you ways to get started and make a difference in the health of your employees, regardless of the size of your worksite and its available resources.
The Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program created BE FAST Bella as a way to promote stroke awareness. Bella comes complete with community education materials to help the public recognize the signs of stroke. Bella materials are available on the BE FAST Bella section of this website.
Other Wisconsin Chronic Disease Prevention Program Areas
Arthritis Program
Asthma Program
Comprehensive Cancer Control Program
Oral Health Program
Tobacco Prevention and Control Program
Wisconsin Well Woman Program
Working Together to Improve Health
The Chronic Disease Prevention Program provides a coordinated approach to identifying health risk behaviors, environments, and systems associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity. The Program’s work impacts all ages and multiple sectors including early care and education, schools, worksites, health care, and the community. State and local partnerships align and coordinate strategy implementation to achieve measurable health impacts.
Four Focus Areas of Chronic Disease Prevention
Chronic diseases—such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis—are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. To reduce the disease burden, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends has four focus areas. The four areas help to focus on strategies that collectively address risk factors, behaviors, and multiple conditions, reach as many people as possible, and link community and health care efforts.
- Finds out how chronic diseases affect populations in the United States.
- Studies interventions to find out what works best to prevent and control chronic diseases.
- Funds and guides states, territories, cities, and tribes to use interventions that work.
- Shares information to help Americans understand risk factors for chronic diseases and how to reduce them.
Benefit of Evidence-Based Approach
Identifying and using proven, effective programs and interventions helps accelerate the achievement of improved health outcomes. The evidence-based process involves identifying unmet needs, setting objectives, selecting effective interventions, and implementing and evaluating programs and policies. It is also important to share lessons learned and results with others at the local, state, and national level to contribute to the available evidence to expand and sustain chronic disease prevention and control efforts.
Chronic Disease Prevention Focus Areas
You can find more detail on the four focus areas by clicking on the icons or navigating through the left margin on any of the chronic disease prevention web pages.
1. Annual Wisconsin Death Report, 2014, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Office of Health Informatics (published November 2015).
2. Gerteis J, et al. Multiple Chronic Conditions Chartbook. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2014.
