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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Amanda C. McClain, MS, Arnold School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, (803) 777-7017, amcclain@gwm.sc.edu, Sara Wilcox, PhD, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, 1300 Wheat Street (Blatt Center), Columbia, SC 29208, and Deborah Parra-Medina, PhD, MPH, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208.

In South Carolina, deaths rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) are higher among African American women than Caucasian women. Cardiovascular disease risk is directly associated with dietary saturated and trans fat intake, which is of significant concern among the African American population who report much higher fat intakes than national recommendations. Studies indicate that the stages of change, or Transtheoretical Model (TTM), construct is a useful tool for tailoring behaviorally-based CVD interventions. Additionally, the Dietary Risk Assessment (DRA), a brief dietary risk assessment questionnaire designed to evaluate the dietary habits of low income persons with specific cultural preferences, can be used to guide interventions targeting dietary fat and cholesterol. The Heart Healthy and Ethnically Relevant (HHER) Lifestyle Program, a community health care-based intervention to promote CVD risk reduction in African American women, uses both stages of change and the DRA to guide behavior counseling. Participants are assigned to one of three stages: precontemplation and contemplation (Stage 1), preparation (Stage 2), or action and maintenance (Stage 3). Preliminary baseline results indicate that behavioral stage and dietary behavior are associated in the expected direction. Women in lower stages of change (Stage 1 mean=32.3; Stage 2 mean=35.8) report higher fat and cholesterol intakes compared to women in higher stages of change (Stage 3 mean=29.2), suggesting that the DRA score may be indicative of the stage of change. This presentation will provide an overview of the HHER Lifestyle Program intervention and demonstrate the DRA as a tool for guiding dietary interventions for African American women.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the HHER Lifestyle Program intervention
• Interpret assessment of dietary fat using the Dietary Risk Assessment
• Demonstrate the utility of the Dietary Risk Assessment as a tool for guiding dietary interventions for African American women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation