Peer Group Support Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk for African American Men According to Life's...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• Health Disparities

Background:

• African American men experience significant cardiovascular disease (CVD) health disparities.
• Previous behavior change programs for CVD risk factors have yielded inconsistent results.
• Effective interventions are needed to address CVD prevention in this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility, safety, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a multi-faceted peer group intervention.
• The intervention was based on the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7.
• The study targeted African American men to reduce CVD risk.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental pilot study involving 24 African American men with at least one CVD risk factor.
• Participants were assigned to either a peer intervention group or a nonequivalent comparison group.
• Feasibility, safety, and efficacy were assessed through session completion, adverse events, attendance, attrition, and pre/post-test measures.

Main Results:

• All 24 participants completed the study without adverse events.
• Peer groups demonstrated moderate to high attendance and positive participant evaluations.
• Significant reductions in cholesterol and weight were observed between the intervention and comparison groups at one site (p = .041, p = .034).

Conclusions:

• The peer support intervention is feasible, acceptable, and shows potential efficacy for motivated African American men.
• The intervention may contribute to reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
• Larger studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness of this intervention model.