2030 Minnesota Cardiovascular Health and Diabetes Statewide Plan Update

Creating a roadmap to reduce health disparities and improve the health of Minnesotans

Cardiovascular disease and stroke are the second and sixth leading causes of death in Minnesota. Diabetes and pre-diabetes, which is estimated to affect as many as two million Minnesotans, is the seventh leading cause of death in the state. These diseases also increase people’s risk for other health conditions, like kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems. They impact the well-being of individuals, families, and communities, and the ability to work; they create personal financial and emotional stress for families; and they increase costs for Minnesota’s health care system. These two diseases impact some Minnesotans more than others due to long-standing health inequities.

It is in the interest of all Minnesotans to reduce the occurrence of these diseases by focusing on creating more prospects for good health for the communities faced with the greatest disparities, improving treatment of the diseases, and helping individuals better manage heart disease, stroke and diabetes. That can be done through broad-based efforts at the community and state level, through organizational and individual actions and by the implementation of effective local and state policies.

A Roadmap and Call to Action

The 2030 Minnesota Cardiovascular Health and Diabetes Statewide Plan is a state- and community-based effort that is underway. The plan is bringing health care providers, advocacy organizations and networks, individuals, insurers, businesses, employers, policymakers, local public health agencies, educators, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and governmental entities together to think, plan, design, and coordinate action that will create and promote conditions that will lead to better individual and community health outcomes throughout Minnesota. Its goals are to:

• Eliminate racial, geographic, and other health inequities that lead to higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes for certain populations in Minnesota.
• Remove barriers to good health.
• Increase access to affordable, culturally appropriate high-quality prevention and clinical and disease self-management options for those experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

The plan will be a road map and call to action for individuals, communities, and organizations to collaborate and prevent, treat and manage diabetes, heart disease and stroke for the next ten years and thereby help to save lives in communities throughout Minnesota.

Guiding Principles

The creation of the 2030 Minnesota Cardiovascular Health and Diabetes Statewide Plan is being guided by a set of core principles. Those principles include a focus on health equity, a bottom-up approach to designing and implementing the plan, authentic and ongoing community engagement, a person- and community-centered focus, sustainability and an ongoing public/stakeholder engagement process.

Strategic Planning Process

To advance positive cardiovascular health and diabetes outcomes through the creation of the 2030 Minnesota Cardiovascular Health and Diabetes Statewide Plan, Minnesotans need to work together in authentic, collaborative and innovative ways. To help facilitate this approach, in March 2019, the Minnesota Department of Health convened a Leadership Team of community leaders to help develop and guide the planning process. The Leadership Team, made up of stakeholders from communities, non-profits, clinics, health systems and local and state agencies, adopted three key areas for focus in the plan:

• Prevention
• Acute Treatment
• Disease Management

Three Leadership Team workgroups, comprised of members representing various sectors and communities, first met in August 2019. The groups reviewed current guidelines, discussed evidence-based and emerging best practices, and developed and recommended objectives and strategies through facilitated discussions. In addition to the ongoing work of the Leadership Team, extensive public outreach and engagement has taken place over the past three years. That outreach and engagement includes:

• Three community engagement meetings attended by more than 35 individuals, many of whom represent health- and community-based organizations
• Five meetings with each of the three Leadership Team work groups (prevention, disease management, and acute treatment)
• Six Leadership Team meetings
• A statewide survey of 540 Minnesotans, which detailed their cardiovascular and diabetes health needs
• More than 40 in-person and telephone key informant interviews were held with individuals and health and community-based organizations

Get Involved

To reduce the number of people getting cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Minnesota, we need your guidance, input, ideas, and help to make the 2030 Plan as workable and effective as possible. Your partnership is crucial to help start addressing the racial and geographic disparities that lead to poor health. Whether you are an organization working in communities, a health care professional, policy-maker, or someone with an interest in diabetes, heart disease or stroke, you can help design, implement, and sustain this plan's initiatives. Our success depends on champions from a wide range of organizations working together to help create and implement the plan. You can:

• Be a champion for one or more parts of the plan
• Partner on funding opportunities for specific initiatives or projects identified in the plan

To learn more, or to get involved in the planning process, please contact Martha Roberts at 651-201-4092 or martha.roberts@state.mn.us. To receive news and announcements from Cardiovascular Health and Diabetes, visit MDH Email Updates.

Past Plans

• Minnesota Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Plan 2011-2020 (PDF)
• View the associated tactics for each strategy (PDF), with a list of state plan tactics.
• For a copy of the Minnesota Diabetes Plan 2010, please contact Martha Roberts: martha.roberts@state.mn.us.