Meet the Investigators Awardee Target Population Proposed Strategy Anticipated Outcome HSA-Level Statistics Ronny Bell, Ph.D., M.S., Spokesperson  Video Clip:  [Download the RealOne player] Principal Investigator: Ronny Bell, Ph.D., M.S. Assistant Professor Department of Public Health Sciences Phone: (336) 716-9736 Fax: (336) 713-4300 E-mail: rbell@wfubmc.edu

Awardee

Heart Attack and Stroke Education, Awareness, Rapid Response, Treatment Adherence,
   Quality Enhancement Through Science Translation (HEARTQUEST)
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
North Carolina

Target Population

The target population includes African American and Native American adults residing in Robeson and Columbus Counties in North Carolina.

Proposed Strategy

Using the socioecologic model, which focuses on all aspects of community-based outreach (e.g., individual, interpersonal, organization, community, and public policy), this project will use both community-based and clinic-based approaches to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the targeted counties. Specific strategies include:

1. Conducting educational activities with primary care physicians to emphasize the use of low-cost drugs for CVD risk reduction.
2. Conducting training programs with lay health educators who will be responsible for CVD educational outreach.
3. Conducting training programs for community-based organizations to enhance their efforts in advocating for environmental policy changes.
4. Conducting community-wide activities (e.g., health fairs for screening and referral).

The proposed strategies will focus on all four National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) performance goals:

• Prevent development of risk factors.
• Detect and treat risk factors.
• Recognize and treat acute coronary syndromes early.
• Prevent recurrence and complications of CVD.

Anticipated Outcome

The anticipated outcomes of this project are:

• Increased knowledge and improved attitudes and practices (KAP) of primary care providers regarding low-cost hypertension and hyperlipidemia control.
• Increased clinic-based access to low-cost therapies for patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
• Development of a model for training community volunteers for the dissemination of CVD prevention messages.
• Increased knowledge among high-risk individuals regarding CVD risk reduction (reducing tobacco use, increasing physical activity, and screening), and appropriate response strategies to address signs and symptoms of health attack and stroke.
• Increased advocacy skills of community-based organizations in developing and implementing health promotion environmental policy changes.
• Decreased proportion of individuals with undiagnosed hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and Type 2 diabetes.
• Increased number of persons with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes that receive appropriate risk factor management education.
• Increased state-of-the-art acute coronary care provided to individuals.
• Increased KAP of individuals regarding the early warning signs and appropriate response techniques for acute coronary syndromes.