Making the Connection: Healthy Living Program

University of Illinois at Chicago: Illinois Prevention Research Center

Topics:
Diabetes | Nutrition & Physical Activity for Adults | Obesity & Overweight

In Chicago’s Greater Lawn community, where 41% of the residents are Hispanic or Latino and 36% are African American, local surveys show that rates of physical inactivity, overweight, obesity, and diabetes are higher for the minority residents than for the non-Hispanic white residents, and are also higher than the national average. Through this health promotion project, researchers and their community partners hope to reduce the minority residents’ diabetes risk.

The project has two phases. The first phase involves working with community partners to take an existing and effective clinic-based intervention and tailor it for the community. (The existing intervention is the Diabetes Prevention Program’s 12-month intensive lifestyle weight loss program used with clinic patients.) The second phase is to evaluate the tailored program. Trained lay health advisors will offer the program (in English or Spanish) to 200 at-risk residents in a variety of community settings such as churches, schools, work sites, and healthcare facilities. An evaluation team will measure participants’ satisfaction with the program as well as their weight, physical activity, and other health-promoting behaviors.

 

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