Rural communities in the Deep South often lack healthy food options and fitness resources. The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center recently concluded a successful implementation of a transformative initiative to address health disparities and promote healthy eating and physical activity among Black women, ages 18 and older, living in rural Alabama and Mississippi.
The REACH Up and Out: Toward a Healthier Lifestyle program is a five-week community-led evidence-based participatory intervention that enables Black women to improve their health by fostering a vibrant social support group. The flexibly designed program allows community groups to conduct sessions on their own schedules, reducing barriers to participation. The environment inspires the women to create meaningful relationships while collectively working on their health journeys.
The research program was originally developed and implemented by Isabel Scarinci, Ph.D., professor in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, from November 2009 through October 2011. The initial implementation of the program recruited Black women ages 45-65 in a randomized trial and evaluated the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity. The program teaches practical and sustainable ways to live a healthier lifestyle, with topics such as evaluating current habits, nutrition, physical activity, eating out and stress management. At the 24-month follow-up, positive changes were maintained with eating behaviors, but not engagement in physical activity.
The UAB Obesity Health Disparities Research Center, a center funded by grants from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, backed the most recent implementation of the RUO program as a pilot project. This implementation was modified as a train-the-trainer model, transforming it from an academic center-led program to a community-led approach. Based on the research trial's evidence-based findings, the objective of this program was to establish and educate a network of community partners with the capacity to effectively incorporate the curriculum within their own organizations.
The first step in any community engagement activity is to listen to the community. Lori Bateman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine and lead investigator for RUO, conducted focus groups in Selma, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana.