 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lenee N. Simon, MPH, Robinson Fulwood, PhD, MSPH, and Gregory J. Morosco, PhD, MPH. Office of Prevention, Education, and Control, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2480, Room 4A-10, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 496-1051, simonl@nhlbi.nih.gov
Racial and geographic cardiovascular disease (CVD) disparity is a public health problem in many communities throughout the U.S. Research has shown that blacks that reside in public housing developments are at particularly high risk, with CVD mortality among blacks in public housing census tracts higher than the rates for blacks in the general population. The purpose of this abstract is to outline a health promotion mobilization effort in Baltimore City, Maryland public housing to redress this problem. The Healthy Hearts in Housing program is currently being implemented by a coalition of public health and housing organizations and is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, (NHLBI) National Institutes of Health (NIH). The impetus for the coalition and its activities is the nation’s health agenda, Healthy People 2010, call to action to address health disparity, and in particular the objectives for heart disease and stroke. A strategic and consensus building process was used to mobilize the public housing community around CVD and develop an action plan for heart health promotion activities on-site at public housing developments. This abstract will describe the process for developing a public housing public health project and outline key issues in public housing health promotion including: 1) linking public health and public housing goals – resident self-sufficiency and improved health and well-being; 2) building community consensus; 3) facilitating community participation in public health consumer research; and 4) promoting heart health in public housing using a two-prong implementation approach of community health workers and environmental change advocacy.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Chronic (CVD), African American
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.