A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Lay Health Worker Intervention to Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Among Vietnamese Americans
ORIGINAL RESEARCH — Volume 17 — April 30, 2020
PEER REVIEWED
The participant-facing image shows an image of an Asian American man and woman smiling and walking briskly together on a path lined with trees, coupled with an image of fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, broccoli, carrots, and lettuce. The text says the following in Vietnamese: “Eat healthy and be active.” The page facing the lay health worker shows the same image shown to the intervention participant, but it has additional text: “Cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are the result of unhealthy eating habits and inactive lifestyles. Eating healthy and being physically active help to maintain a healthy weight and prevent obesity, therefore preventing many chronic illnesses. The main purpose of today’s session is to learn how to eat healthy and be active.”
Figure 1.
Culturally and linguistically appropriate educational materials developed for delivery by lay health workers to Vietnamese Americans aged 50 to 74 in an intervention designed to increase healthy eating and physical activity, Santa Clara County, California, 2008–2013. A, Participant-facing page of a flip chart. B, Lay health worker–facing page.
In this study, 894 people were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 254 were excluded: 147 did not meet inclusion criteria; 20 declined to participate; and 87 werce excluded for other reasons (eg, could not be contacted by telephone, duplicated names, lived in the same household as another participant). Six-hundred-forty people were randomized: 320 were allocated to and received the healthy eating and physical activity intervention (intervention group) and 320 were allocated to and received the colorectal cancer screening intervention (comparison group). In the arm receiving the healthy eating and physical activity intervention, 9 people were lost to follow-up: 5 moved or could not be reached; 1 person died (not related to study intervention); 1 person refused for personal reasons; and 2 people refused but gave no reason. In the CRC comparison group, 4 people were lost to follow-up: 2 moved or could not be reached; 1 person refused and gave a reason; and 1 person refused but gave no reason. In the intervention group, 311 participants were included in the analysis, and in the comparison group, 316 participants were included in the analysis.
Figure 2.
Cluster randomized trial of a lay health worker intervention to increase healthy eating and physical activity among Vietnamese Americans, Santa Clara County, California, 2008–2013.
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