ABSTRACT
Lifestyle interventions can prevent diabetes through weight loss, but they are rarely translated for use in underserved communities.
The aim of this study was to describe how a community–academic partnership formed and developed a program to address local
health disparities by developing a low-cost, culturally and economically appropriate, peer-led community-based diabetes prevention
program. Using a participatory approach, the partnership chose to focus on diabetes prevention, and co-developed all intervention,
recruitment, research, and evaluation strategies. The partnership’s philosophy to maintain high clinical and scientific standards
paired with their ability to represent and engage the community facilitated the development of a randomized controlled trial
that achieved statistically significant and sustained weight loss, and the recruitment of a largely Spanish-speaking, low
income, uninsured population. The success of this intervention lies in the partnership’s commitment to the community,
co-ownership of research, and a careful balance between academic rigor and community
engagement and relevance.
The aim of this study was to describe how a community–academic partnership formed and developed a program to address local
health disparities by developing a low-cost, culturally and economically appropriate, peer-led community-based diabetes prevention
program. Using a participatory approach, the partnership chose to focus on diabetes prevention, and co-developed all intervention,
recruitment, research, and evaluation strategies. The partnership’s philosophy to maintain high clinical and scientific standards
paired with their ability to represent and engage the community facilitated the development of a randomized controlled trial
that achieved statistically significant and sustained weight loss, and the recruitment of a largely Spanish-speaking, low
income, uninsured population. The success of this intervention lies in the partnership’s commitment to the community,
co-ownership of research, and a careful balance between academic rigor and community
engagement and relevance.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s13142-011-0067-6
- Authors
- Carol R Horowitz, Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1077, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Sarah Eckhardt, Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1077, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Sandra Talavera, Senior Health Partners, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Crispin Goytia, East Harlem Partnership for Diabetes Prevention and Centers for Community and Academic Research Partnerships, Mount Sinai CONDUITS, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Kate Lorig, Stanford Patient Education Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
- Journal Translational Behavioral Medicine
- Online ISSN 1613-9860
- Print ISSN 1869-6716