University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Community Health Workers Linking Public Health and Clinical Services to Reduce CVD using community health workers (CHWs)

Description

In North Carolina, and nationally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disease among adults. North Carolina adults have high rates of CVD behavioral risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating habits, smoking, and being overweight and obese. To help reduce these risks, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Prevention Research Center (UNC PRC) will test the effectiveness and implementation of Carolina Heart Alliance Networking for Greater Equality (CHANGE).

CHANGE is a health promotion strategy to link public health and clinical services through community health workers (CHWs). Primary care clinics, public health departments, and CHWs all have strengths in addressing chronic disease risk factors, but there is a widely recognized gap in the coordination among them. The CHANGE strategy includes CHWs as members of primary care and public health teams to distribute a behavioral change intervention called Heart-to-Health to a total of 480 clinic patients at risk for CVD. Heart-to-Health is an effective lifestyle and medication adherence intervention that includes a computerized decision aid to guide delivery of tailored counseling sessions. The counseling sessions are focused on diet, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and medication adherence and are facilitated by CHWs using tablet computers. The CHWs will use tablet computers to communicate with a medical home team about important patient health information to be acted on in real time. The CHWs also will link participants to public health and other community based resources to support behavior change. The CHANGE strategy will be tested in one underserved, rural community and then replicated in a second community. 

Researchers from the UNC PRC will examine whether CHANGE is effective at increasing the reach of clinic and public community services to at risk populations and at improving composite coronary heart disease risk.

Project Identifier Carolina Heart Alliance Networking for Greater Equity includes CHWs to link primary care and public health teams

Funding Source PRC Program

Project Status Active

Host Institution University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Health Topics Cardiovascular health | Obesity & overweight | Physical activity | Nutrition

Research setting Medical or clinical site

Race or ethnicity No specific focus

Gender No specific focus

Age group No specific focus

Contact Information Center
UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
1700 Airport Road, Room 217
Campus Box 7426
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Principal Investigator
Alice Ammerman
alice_ammerman@unc.edu  
 

PRC Deputy Director
Amanda Briggs
Phone: (919) 966-6037
Amanda_Briggs@unc.edu