UCLA-UCI Center for Eliminating Cardio-Metabolic Disparities in Multi-Ethnic Populations

PROJECT SUMMARY
Stroke and cardiovascular disease account for 1 in 4 deaths among Latinos in the U.S, and heart disease is
the second leading cause of death overall. Vietnamese populations in southern CA have persistently high rates
of hypertension linked to elevated rates of stroke. Hypertension disproportionately affects communities of color
who are often concentrated residentially due to race-based residential segregation. Disinvestment in the social,
economic, and physical environment in communities of color enhances barriers to cardiovascular disease risk
prevention and management. These disparities, along with the continued growth of diverse populations in
southern California and across the U.S., highlight the need for novel, community-level interventions to prevent
hypertension. Primordial prevention of hypertension is critical in moving forward in terms of the achievement of
ideal cardiovascular health cardiovascular health for all. There is growing evidence that integrating families and
social networks into behavioral interventions may enhance the efficacy, effectiveness and sustainability of
vascular risk reduction. The Skills-based Educational strategies to Reduce Vascular Events in Orange County
(SERVE OC) intervention is a culturally-tailored, skills-based educational program set within a supportive
family structure and utilizing a community health worker model. Our hypothesis is that this approach will
optimize successful long-term behavioral change for prevention of hypertension among adults and children in
Vietnamese and Latino households in Orange County, CA. This hypothesis is supported by significant
formative research, including our original Discharge Educational Strategies for Reduction of Vascular Events
(DESERVE) intervention randomized control trial. DESERVE shifted the paradigm for vascular risk reduction
strategies by translating information to skills-based actions resulting in a clinically significant reduction in
systolic blood pressure overall and a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure among Latinos.
DESERVE also found that blood pressure reduction was enhanced among those with stronger support
networks. This proposal seeks to test with SERVE OC whether we can optimize, through adaptation, the
DESERVE intervention model for blood pressure reduction by using family networks as a platform to deliver
primary prevention of hypertension.

Grant Number: 5P50MD017366-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: BERNADETTE BODEN-ALBALA