Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Health Care Utilization
Conditions
Keywords
Community health ambassadors (CHA), Community health centers, Workshops
Brief summary
This research is being conducted to investigate how to increase primary care health care visits and screenings and treatment for hypertension and diabetes in residents of housing developments in Boston. The investigators are partnering with Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and Trinity housing management to randomize 12 housing developments (6 in intervention and 6 in control). 6 residents from the housing developments will become Community Health Ambassadors (CHA). The CHAs will be trained to conduct workshops within the intervention arm. These workshops will cover Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Hypertension (HTN) information. Along with the workshops, CHAs will act as mentors for the residents and provide them with resources to connect them to primary care, Community Health Centers, food pantry resources, how to get insurance, and other needed services. CHAs will be part-time employees of the Massachusetts Community Engaged Alliance (MA-CEAL), so they will be paid for the work they are doing while simultaneously building their professional skill set. MA-CEAL's community engagement (CE) team will act as liaisons and mentors for the CHA's to help guide them and also connect them to opportunities for career/personal development.
Interventions
OTHEREducating participants about healthcare resources
MA-CEAL team members, including the community health ambassador (CHA), will assist in connecting residents with healthcare resources.
OTHERHealthcare appointments
MA-CEAL team members, including the community health ambassador (CHA), will assist residents in making physician appointments.
OTHERWorkshops
Trained CHAs will provide workshops with information about diabetes and hypertension and how to be screened and get care.
Sponsors
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Massachusetts Community Engaged Alliance (MA-CEAL)
Boston Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
A waitlist-control trial design will be used for this study. 6 of the 12 participating housing developments will be randomized into the intervention arm and 6 into the control arm. At month 0 all participants will participate in baseline activities (surveys). At month 18 the control arm will begin the intervention. The whole study is projected to take 36 months.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Current resident in selected Boston Health Authority (BHA) and Trinity housing developments * Speak and understand English and/or Spanish
Exclusion criteria
* Does not speak English or Spanish * Not a resident of the development
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of primary care visits | Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months | Self-report primary care visits in the last 18 months will be obtained using selected items from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of screenings for diabetes | Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months | Self-reported by participants in a study questionnaire |
| Number of screenings for hypertension | Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months | Self-reported by participants in a study questionnaire |
Outcome results
None listed