Community health worker interventions as a way to increase physical activity among three distinct Asian American subgroups in New York City

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) promote healthy living by teaching self-management behaviors among the communities they serve. Few CHW interventions have included Asian Americans populations, consisting of diverse, heterogeneous subgroups encountering different barriers to physical activity. Methods: Randomized controlled CHW interventions are currently implemented in Bangladeshi, Korean, and Filipino NYC communities to address cardiovascular disease risk factors. Curricula and instruction on physical activity are culturally-tailored to each community. Interventions include goal-setting and self-monitoring of progress during one-on-one meetings or phone calls. Changes in clinical outcomes are examined by treatment/control groups, and further stratified by community and self-reported exercise. Qualitative data will further support findings. Results: Preliminary analyses examine baseline to midpoint data for Koreans (n=73) and baseline to endpoint data for Bangladeshis (n=84) and Filipinos (n=90). Significant increases in self-reported exercise were seen for treatment groups across studies (p<0.01); there were no significant changes in control groups. There were greater reductions in clinical variables among treatment groups, as well as among individuals reporting recommended levels of weekly exercise. Qualitative data shows that the interventions have built social support by encouraging group and community-level physical activities (e.g. walking groups and exercise classes). Full analyses will be performed on all individuals completing interventions by summer 2013, estimated n=450. Further analyses will also include barriers by subgroup and ways that CHWs addressed these barriers. Conclusions: CHW interventions have the capability to improve physical activity. CHWs delivering culturally-tailored education programs can help reduce barriers and stigma towards physical activity among under-served Asian populations.