The CHAP Working Group would like to see many CHAP communities continue to offer CHAP within their communities. In order to maintain the integrity of CHAP, the following components are essential to its ongoing operation.

1. Community Wide
   • CHAP must be a community-wide program, offered free of charge to older adult community residents.
2. Setting
   • Communities must hold at least one regular CHAP session a month in a local pharmacy. Additional sessions may be held in other settings where a health care professional will be present. For example, local public health units, local health agencies such as VON or CCAC, medical clinics, and seniors centre.
3. Collaboration with Primary Health Care Providers
   • CHAP connects community-based health promotion and prevention activities for older adults with the care provided by their family physician and pharmacist.
   • The majority of family physicians and other primary care practitioners need to be involved with CHAP in referring or inviting patients to participate in CHAP.
   • Other health professionals such as nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and dietitians should also be encouraged to invite or refer patients and/or become involved in CHAP in other ways.
4. Self-Blood Pressure Measurement
   • At each CHAP session visit, participants must measure their blood pressure, with assistance from a volunteer, using an automated blood pressure measuring device such as the BpTRU™. It is then recorded on the Cardiovascular and Stroke Risk Profile Form.
5. Follow-up of High Risk Participants
   • Blood pressure and Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Risk Profile results for each participant at each session visit should be evaluated based on the CHAP Session Blood Pressure Recommendation Protocol. In doing so, it will ensure that CHAP session participants receive the appropriate follow-up from their health care providers.
6. Health Promotion Education
   • CHAP participants will receive their Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Risk Profile results at each CHAP session. CHAP participants can then take home a copy of these results and give their permission to have them shared with their family physician and pharmacist. This allows physicians and pharmacists to follow-up with their patients if required.
   • CHAP participants will also receive targeted education resources that include referrals to local programs so that they may reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Some communities may offer healthy living education sessions for CHAP participants.
   • Healthy living resources should be available for distribution at CHAP sessions that address a wide variety of topics, including healthy eating, smoking cessation and physical activity. Linkages to local, provincial and national sources of health promotion information and programs should also be provided.
7. Continuous Program Evaluation
   • Conducting continuous program evaluation in your community will enable the Local Lead Organization and the Local CHAP Coordinator to monitor the progress of CHAP. This will help to determine local successes/challenges and impact of CHAP on your community.
   • In order to evaluate CHAP in their community, the Local Lead Organization or Local CHAP Coordinator, should track the following:
   1. a. Number of CHAP sessions held;
   2. b. Total number of blood pressure assessments conducted;
   3. c. Total number of unique participants;
   4. d. Average number of visits per participant;
   5. e. Total number of participating family physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals, and;
   6. f. Total number of trained volunteer peer health educators

Making the Case for CHAP

In 2006, the CHAP Working Group undertook a community level randomized control trial of 20 communities in Ontario. These randomly selected communities had populations between 10,000 and 60,000 individuals. The implementation of CHAP was successful in all 20 communities. Overall, there was a high level of community engagement in CHAP indicated by the participation of 99% of all family physicians and 89% of all pharmacies. CHAP participants liked the program as demonstrated by the number of repeat visits to CHAP sessions. In total, 43% of all CHAP participants returned for a repeat visit. The mobilization of these communities was achieved in part by the use of the CHAP Implementation Guide. The guide presented the steps required to implement CHAP in a consistent manner across all of the communities. The CHAP Implementation Guide contained rationale, program objectives, and templates for letters, power point presentations, job descriptions, volunteer training materials and advertising. For more information about this study, please see www.procor.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=1090642.

Annual Cost to Operate CHAP

Here is a draft budget that includes an overview of the approximate costs of sustaining CHAP for one year in your community.

Manual Data Checking

An estimate of the cost of automated processing of faxed-in paper forms without manual data checking is based on your individual community statistics. In (community), you averaged (X) clients per month last year. At $0.50 per form, we estimate your cost for automated processing of faxed-in paper forms without manual data checking would cost approximately ($).

Return to Table of Contents