BLOOMFIELD, Conn.--(Business Wire)--
CIGNA (NYSE:CI) has received a grant from Finding Answers: Disparities Research
for Change, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) at
the University of Chicago that evaluates interventions aimed at eliminating
racial and ethnic health care disparities in local communities. CIGNA and six
other grantees were selected from a pool of 111 proposals and join 21 sites
awarded funding since December 2006.
CIGNA was the only commercial health plan to receive a grant from the Finding
Answers program this year and will use it to study novel ways to improve high
blood pressure control in diverse populations. The project will be administered
jointly between CIGNA and RAND Corporation and will draw on CIGNA's broad
clinical expertise and RAND`s extensive health care research design expertise.
The CDC estimated the direct and indirect cost of high blood pressure in 2006 to
be $63.5 billion. It`s the number one controllable risk factor for stroke, and
can also contribute to heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure and artery
disease. A 50-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman with high blood pressure have
almost three times the risk of dying from a heart attack and almost four times
the risk of dying from stroke1 than their peers whose blood pressure is normal
or well-controlled. African-Americans are 40 percent more likely to have high
blood pressure and 10 percent less likely to have their blood pressure under
control2 than non-Hispanic white Americans. African-Americans have the highest
rate of high blood pressure of all groups and tend to develop it at a younger
age.3
"High blood pressure is a significant health problem in the United States,
especially among African Americans," said Dr. Jeff Kang, chief medical officer
for CIGNA. "The research CIGNA is able to conduct as a result of this grant is
extremely important because it will help us determine which strategies are most
effective at helping people of all races and ethnicities improve their health.
We are pleased to join the Foundation and its Finding Answers program in working
to eliminate health care disparities."
"Studies like this one that explore human behavior in real world settings
provide crucial insights into what works best in practice," said Dr. Laurie
Martin, the RAND principal investigator on the project.
"CIGNA and the other grantees will work with the health care community to
identify successful approaches to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in
health care," said Marshall H. Chin, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine at the
University of Chicago, Department of Medicine and the Center for Health and the
Social Sciences, as well as the director of the Finding Answers program. "The
interventions being evaluated as part of this program have been selected for
their potential to be replicated and sustained in communities throughout the
United States."
The research results will help RWJF understand what works - or does not work -
to improve health care for minorities. The information provided to Finding
Answers will include: guidance for implementing tested interventions, including
potential obstacles and solutions; start-up and maintenance costs for the
intervention; and staff training needs. Finding Answers will evaluate the
results and related information and then inform health care stakeholders -
doctors, nurses, hospitals and health plans - about interventions that
demonstrate potential to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care.
In 2008, CIGNA established the Health Disparities Council, a multidisciplinary
group of leaders from throughout the company. The council exchanges ideas,
shares knowledge, and identifies opportunities to effectively address health
disparities in a culturally sensitive and medically appropriate manner. The
RWJF-funded study is consistent with the council`s mission to pilot and deploy
focused actions aimed at reducing disparities and improving health and will be
undertaken by one of the council`s workgroups.
About CIGNA
CIGNA (NYSE:CI), a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people
improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation's
operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental,
behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life,
accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout
the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA, visit
www.cigna.com. To sign up for email alerts or an RSS feed of company news, log
on to http://newsroom.cigna.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=18.
About the RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective
analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public
and private sectors around the world.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Finding Answers: Disparities
Research for Change
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health
care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted
exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the
Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to
identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For
more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a
rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health
care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives
and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your
lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change, a national program of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the University of Chicago, awards and manages
research grants totaling $7 million to health care organizations implementing
interventions aimed at reducing disparities. The funds are used to evaluate the
interventions and their potential for real world implementation. This initiative
encourages health plans, hospitals, and community clinics to focus on racial and
ethnic disparities as a priority in their quality improvement agendas. To learn
more about Finding Answers, visit www.solvingdisparities.org.
1 American Heart Association.
2 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; the Office of Minority Health.
3 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), 1997 and CDC: Office of Minority
Health & Health Disparities (OMHD).
CIGNA
Mark Slitt, 860-226-2092
mark.slitt@cigna.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
