LaPrincess C. Brewer, M.D., M.P.H.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypertension (HTN) app-based intervention to see if it is more effective in improving uncontrolled HTN and HTN self-care among Africian-Americans from baseline to post-intervention (immediate, 3 months and 6 months post-intervention) as compared to the standard of care.

The purpose of this study is to employ patient and community engagement to develop recruitment strategies and provide input to a future clinical trial of a virtual world cardiac rehab (CR) program. Also, the study aims to gain a better understanding of the barriers to CR participation.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) afflicts nearly half of all African-American (AA) adults, who are 30% more likely to die from CVD than the overall US population. Compared to all racial and ethnic groups, AAs also have the lowest overall cardiovascular health (CVH) scores on the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 (AHA LE8). Our proposed study aims to engage AA churches via an established community-academic partnership (FAITH!) to build capacity to promote CVH and digital health equity through: 1) the co-design of a culturally tailored digital health equity tool, 2) training of a network of Digital Health Advocates (DHAs) and 3) testing of the impact of a DHA-enhanced, evidence-based, mobile health (mHealth) intervention (FAITH! App) on the AHA LE8 and digital health readiness among AAs within faith communities.

The purpose of this study is to apply a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to rigorously refine and test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of our existing cardiovascular (CV) health and wellness digital application (app) prototype to improve CV health according to the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) framework among African-American (AA) adults within faith communities.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) afflicts nearly half of all African-American (AA) adults, who are 30% more likely to die from CVD than the overall US population. Compared to all racial and ethnic groups, AAs also have the lowest overall cardiovascular health (CVH) scores on the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 (AHA LE8). Our proposed study aims to engage AA churches via an established community-academic partnership (FAITH!) to build capacity to promote CVH and digital health equity through: 1) the co-design of a culturally tailored digital health equity tool, 2) training of a network of Digital Health Advocates (DHAs) and 3) testing of the impact of a DHA-enhanced, evidence-based, mobile health (mHealth) intervention (FAITH! App) on the AHA LE8 and digital health readiness among AAs within faith communities.

The aim of this project is to assess the feasibility and utility of a virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program as an extension of a face-to-face conventional CR program (Destination Rehab).

The ultimate goal of our partnership with local African-American churches is to implement an effective, multi-component intervention to increase awareness of the critical importance of healthy lifestyle in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We will utilize the American Heart Association (AHA) prevention strategy, "Life's Simple 7" to address the major risk factors for CVD: diet, smoking, physical inactivity, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity in order to improve overall cardiovascular health. Our main strategy consists of a community-based participatory research approach that involves focus groups to assess participant knowledge and beliefs about CVD risk factors prior to program initiation. We will also determine participant dietary and exercise practices, knowledge and perceptions related to healthy lifestyle and chronic diseases, demographic/health status information, health care utilization, biometrics (weight, blood pressure, blood tests for glucose and cholesterol, etc.) and attitudes about medical research at baseline, program completion and 6-month follow-up.

Given the importance of healthy lifestyle practices to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and the utility of church-based interventions in African-American adults, the investigators developed a theory-informed, strategically-planned, health and wellness intervention with Rochester, Minnesota (MN) and Twin Cities area (Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN) churches with predominately African-American congregations. The objective of the study was to partner with churches to implement a multi-component, health education program through the use of core educational sessions delivered through a digital-application accessible on demand via interactive access on computer tablets and the Internet. The overarching goal was to increase the awareness and critical importance of healthy lifestyles for CVD prevention and provide support for behavior change.

The objectives of this study are to assess the impact of outreach by the FAITH! Program (an academic-community partnership) on implementation of emergency preparedness teams (EPTs) in African-American (AA) churches, to determine whether messaging delivered via social media and email channels are effective in distributing accurate information about COVID-19, and to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on AA churches.

The specific aims of the study are to:

Aim 1. To determine the feasibility of a community-engaged research partnership to support rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing for symptomatic patients of all ages in the underserved population during the COVID-19 crisis. We will pilot a rapid testing strategy at OCHC using Mayo Clinic Laboratory (MCL) diagnostic processing.

Aim 2. Compare the effectiveness of community-driven messaging in increasing uptake of rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing compared with usual sources of health information. We will draw a simple random sample of OCHC patients (N=1000, age 18+) with 1:1 randomization of communication about COVID-19 and availability of rapid testing from OCHC versus usual sources (control).

The purpose of this study is to explore the biopsychosocial pathway between the social determinants of health, stress and structural racism and cardiovascular health (CVH) among African Americans.

The social determinants of health, stress and structural racism will influence the ability of African-Americans to achieve ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) as defined by the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 (AHA LS7).

The purpose of this study is to learn about whether a community health clinic program on heart disease risk factors delivered through a digital app on smartphones and tablet devices will promote healthy habits and improve blood pressure among African-Americans.