How Employers Can Promote Cardiovascular Care, Women’s Health

December 06, 2023 - Cardiovascular, diabetes, and obesity treatments are a critical part of women’s health, and employers can take steps to ensure that women have access to information and care related to their hearts, a flipbook from Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) emphasized.

“With women comprising more than half of today’s workforce, employers are making women’s health and well-being a top priority, and rightfully so,” Candice Sherman, chief of executive officer of NEBGH, said in the press release.

“Cardiovascular disease in women is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Employers can play an important role in raising awareness and educating employees about heart disease and risk factors like diabetes and obesity as well as providing wellness and benefit programs that support women’s health. We developed this guide to give employers a tool to develop ways to improve the overall heart health of their workforce.”

Since only around one percent of Americans have ideal heart health, the first step employers can take toward better cardiovascular health for women is to promote healthy living. This includes endorsing smoking cessation programs, healthier eating habits, exercise, appropriate weight loss, blood pressure management, cholesterol management, and blood sugar reduction.

Employers can adopt different strategies for female workers who are on-site versus remote. For example, employers may offer onsite workers healthier foods at lower prices in cafeterias and vending machines. This obviously would not benefit remote employees, so employers can give remote workers coupons for healthy food delivery services.

Onsite physical activity strategies could include providing exercise options like a gym or nearby walking trails. Meanwhile. for remote workers, employers can implement virtual fitness events and company-wide step challenges.

The second step employers can take to improve health among female employees is to promote education and spread information about women’s health. Many women struggle with finding trustworthy health information resources, so employers can share insights from reputable sources including webinars by clinicians and messaging tied to women’s health awareness months or weeks.

Similarly, in the third step, employers can use awareness campaigns to connect female employees with important health information. In particular, employers should raise awareness about how cardiovascular disease often presents itself among women. These symptoms can include cold sweats, pale or clammy skin, inability to sleep, and dizziness or lightheadedness.

There are many publicly available materials that employers can pull from, but they should maintain a culturally sensitive and tailored approach.

Fourth, employers should adapt their benefits to women’s needs. They can do this by soliciting feedback from female employees, collaborating with their health plans to mine data, creating targeted wellness programs, advocating for self-care, ensuring access to care from women-friendly providers, ensuring access to care across income brackets, and using digital health tools.

Given the history of misdiagnosis and dismissal of women in the healthcare system, it is important for employers to support self-advocacy among female employees.

Employers’ strategies can promote self-monitoring, prioritization of one’s own health, filling out patient feedback surveys, taking notes and asking questions. Employers should also support switching providers if a female employee’s current provider does not listen to their needs or experiences. They can connect women with their health plans who often provide navigation services.

Effective cardiovascular treatments are historically underutilized. Failures often occur in six areas of the cardiovascular treatment process—ranging from failures in risk factor modifications to failure to offer supportive care. This results in unnecessary spending and poor patient outcomes.

Employers should seek to adjust care upstream through wellness programs and use support groups, digital health technologies, or other methods to help women engage in their cardiovascular health. Employers should encourage primary care visits and blood pressure screenings to improve the rates of diagnosis and medication adherence. Reducing costs and improving end-stage heart failure benefits are also key to ensuring cardiovascular treatment utilization.

Finally, employers should promote effective diabetes and obesity treatments, not only through their materials but also through their cost-sharing mechanisms. For diabetes, this might look like covering insulin and glucose-lowering medication without deductibles or cost-sharing. For obesity, employers may consider covering bariatric surgery and post-surgical care when recommended.

Employers who are serious about retaining a dedicated and diverse workforce need to address barriers to historically underserved populations like women. The good news is there are many ways to implement change.