UCLA, partners get $11M to develop stroke-prevention programs for minority populations

UCLA researchers and their partners across Los Angeles County have been awarded an $11 million federal grant to fund research on community-based interventions aimed at reducing the higher rates of stroke and death from stroke among disadvantaged Hispanics, African Americans and Asian Americans.   Research has shown that stroke risk can be substantially lowered by increasing physical activity, controlling blood pressure, adopting a healthy diet, quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol and, for certain individuals, taking medication like aspirin.   However, the underserved populations targeted by this research program are frequently prevented from achieving these health goals by a variety barriers, including a lack of transportation for doctor visits, an inability to afford medication, insufficient knowledge about how to change their lifestyle, living in neighborhoods where infrastructure or safety concerns prevent walking, and an inability to read food labels in English, among others.   The Los Angeles Stroke Prevention/Intervention Research Program in Health Disparities is a multi-partner research center funded by the National Institutes of Health that will conduct two randomized, controlled, community-based trials of stroke-prevention interventions. One will measure how much the risk of recurrent stroke is lowered by teaming community health workers with physicians and nurses at Los Angeles medical centers serving low-income populations.   "These community...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news