Project 1:
HIC: Mobilizing the Power of social networks for cardiovascular risk reduction among people with overweight and obesity
Immigrants often arrive in Minnesota with healthier cardiovascular risk profiles than the general population, but these health advantages disappear over time, and rates of obesity quickly increase. Accumulation of cardiovascular risk is precipitated, in part, by factors that promote the adoption of unhealthy behaviors, namely, a sedentary lifestyle and consumption of calorie-dense foods.
The objective of Project 1 is to leverage existing social networks for health behavior change relevant to obesity and cardiovascular risk in Southeast MN. In this project, our team proposed to build on the prior success of WellConnect, a robust infrastructure developed by a member of our team for implementing multi-level evidence-based health promotion programs and integrating them within health care systems, tailoring these programs to the needs of people in Minnesota. To achieve our objective, Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP) will test the efficacy of this social network intervention within WellConnect and evaluate its potential dissemination and sustainability.
Project 1 aims to:
1. Assess the efficacy of a social network-informed CBPR-derived health promotion intervention on obesity and other measures of cardiovascular risk.
2. Assess the impact on sustainability and uptake outcomes of embedding a social network-informed CBPR-derived intervention within a regional health promotion resource hub.
