Heather Kitzman Ph.D.

Kitzman, H., Mamun, A., Dodgen, L., Slater, D., King, G., King, A., Slater, J.L. and DeHaven, M. (2020). “Better Me Within Randomized Trial: Faith-Based Diabetes Prevention Program for Weight Loss in African American Women.” Am J Health Promot Sep 18;890117120958545. [Epub ahead of print.]. 890117120958545.

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PURPOSE: Previous DPP translations in African American women have been suboptimal. This trial evaluated a community-based participatory research developed faith-based diabetes prevention program (DPP) to improve weight loss in African American women. DESIGN: This cluster randomized trial allocated churches to faith-based (FDPP) or standard (SDPP) DPP interventions. Setting. African American churches. Subjects. Eleven churches with 221 African American women (aged 48.8 ± 11.2 years, BMI = 36.7 ± 8.4) received the FDPP (n = 6) or SDPP (n = 5) intervention. INTERVENTION: FDPP incorporated 5 faith-based components, including pastor involvement, into the standard DPP curriculum. The SDPP used the standard DPP curriculum. Lay health leaders facilitated interventions at church sites. MEASURES: Weight and biometrics were collected by blinded staff at baseline, 4- and 10-months. ANALYSIS: A multilevel hierarchical regression model compared the FDPP and SDPP groups on outcomes. RESULTS: FDPP and SDPP churches significantly lost weight at 10-months (overall -2.6%, p < .01). Women in FDPP churches who attended at least 15 sessions lost an additional 6.1 pounds at 4-months compared to SDPP corresponding to a 5.8% reduction at 10-months (p < .05). Both groups had significant improvements in health behaviors and biometrics. CONCLUSIONS: Faith-based and standard DPP interventions led by lay health leaders successfully improved weight, health behaviors, and chronic disease risk. However, the faith-based DPP when fully implemented met the CDC's recommendation for weight loss for diabetes prevention in African American women.

DeHaven, M.J., Gimpel, N.A., Gutierrez, D., Kitzman-Carmichael, H. and Revens, K. (2020). “Designing health care: A community health science solution for reducing health disparities by integrating social determinants and the effects of place.” J Eval Clin Pract 26(5): 1564-1572.

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BACKGROUND: In the United States chronic illnesses have become a way of life for multiple generations – they are the number one cause of death and disability (accounting for more than 70% of deaths), 60% of American adults have at least one chronic disease, and 40% have multiple chronic conditions. Although multiple factors contribute to the growth in chronic disease prevalence, a major factor has been overreliance on health care systems for promoting health and preventing disease. Large health care systems are ill equipped for this role since they are designed to detect, treat, and manage disease, not to promote health or address the underlying causes of disease. METHODS: Improving health outcomes in the U.S. will require implementing broad-based prevention strategies combining biological, behavioral, and societal variables that move beyond clinical care. According to community medicine, clinical care alone cannot create, support, or maintain health. Rather, health can only ensue from combining clinical care with epidemiology and community organization, because health is a social outcome resulting from a combination of clinical science, collective responsibility, and informed social action. RESULTS: During the past 20 years, our team has developed an operational community medicine approach known as community health science. Our model provides a simple framework for integrating clinical care, population health, and community organization, using community-based participatory research (CBPR) practices for developing place-based initiatives. In the present paper, we present a brief overview of the model and describe its evolution, applications, and outcomes in two major urban environments. CONCLUSION: The paper demonstrates means for integrating the social determinants of health into collaborative place-based approaches, for aligning community assets and reducing health disparities. It concludes by discussing how asset-based community development can promote social connectivity and improve health, and how our approach reflects the emerging national consensus on the importance of place-based population system change

Mamun, A., H. Kitzman and L. Dodgen (2020). “Reducing metabolic syndrome through a community-based lifestyle intervention in African American women.” Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis Jun 12;S0939-4753(20)30232-5. [Epub ahead of print.].

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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Despite a higher prevalence of MetS in African American (AA) women, little is known about the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in improving metabolic markers in this high-risk group. This study investigated the effectiveness of a community-based lifestyle intervention delivered by lay health coaches in reducing MetS among AA women. METHODS AND RESULTS: A cluster-randomized diabetes prevention program (DPP) was implemented in 11 churches utilizing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to develop and deliver the interventions. A total of 221 adults, AA women who were overweight or obese, and did not have diabetes were included in this study. The prevalence of MetS was 42.08% before receiving the DPP intervention and 31.22% after the intervention that represented a 10.86% absolute reduction and a 25.81% relative reduction from baseline. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of being free from MetS at post-intervention in contrast to baseline was 2.14 (p = 0.02). Factors that increased the odds of being free from MetS were younger age, reduction in intake of total calories, total fat, saturated and trans-fat, and dietary sodium. CONCLUSION: A faith adapted lifestyle intervention held in church settings and delivered by minimally trained lay health coaches reduced the prevalence of MetS in AA women who were overweight or obese. Findings from this study can be used to translate evidence into public health programs at the community level for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

DeHaven, M. J., N. A. Gimpel, D. Gutierrez, H. Kitzman-Carmichael and K. Revens (2020). “Designing health care: A community health science solution for reducing health disparities by integrating social determinants and the effects of place.” J Eval Clin Pract Mar 10. [Epub ahead of print].

Full text of this article.

BACKGROUND: In the United States chronic illnesses have become a way of life for multiple generations – they are the number one cause of death and disability (accounting for more than 70% of deaths), 60% of American adults have at least one chronic disease, and 40% have multiple chronic conditions. Although multiple factors contribute to the growth in chronic disease prevalence, a major factor has been overreliance on health care systems for promoting health and preventing disease. Large health care systems are ill equipped for this role since they are designed to detect, treat, and manage disease, not to promote health or address the underlying causes of disease. METHODS: Improving health outcomes in the U.S. will require implementing broad-based prevention strategies combining biological, behavioral, and societal variables that move beyond clinical care. According to community medicine, clinical care alone cannot create, support, or maintain health. Rather, health can only ensue from combining clinical care with epidemiology and community organization, because health is a social outcome resulting from a combination of clinical science, collective responsibility, and informed social action. RESULTS: During the past 20 years, our team has developed an operational community medicine approach known as community health science. Our model provides a simple framework for integrating clinical care, population health, and community organization, using community-based participatory research (CBPR) practices for developing place-based initiatives. In the present paper, we present a brief overview of the model and describe its evolution, applications, and outcomes in two major urban environments. CONCLUSION: The paper demonstrates means for integrating the social determinants of health into collaborative place-based approaches, for aligning community assets and reducing health disparities. It concludes by discussing how asset-based community development can promote social connectivity and improve health, and how our approach reflects the emerging national consensus on the importance of place-based population system change.

Wesson, D. E., H. Kitzman, A. Montgomery, A. Mamun, W. Parnell, B. Vilayvanh, K. M. Tecson and P. Allison (2020). “A population health dietary intervention for African American adults with chronic kidney disease: The Fruit and Veggies for Kidney Health randomized study.” Contemp Clin Trials Commun March 1. Volume 17, Article 100540.

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Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly asymptomatic until its late stages, reduces life quality and length, is costly to manage, and is disproportionately prevalent in low-income, African American (AA) communities. Traditional health system strategies that engage only patients with symptomatic CKD limit opportunities to prevent progression to end stage kidney disease (ESKD) with the need for expensive kidney replacement therapy and to reduce risk for their major mortality cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD). Published studies show that giving fruits and vegetables (F&V) to AA with early-stage CKD along with preparation instructions slowed CKD progression. This effective, evidenced-based, and potentially scalable dietary intervention might be a component of a community-based strategy to prevent CKD progression. Design: This study supported by NIH grant (R21DK113440) will test the feasibility of an innovative screening strategy conducted at community-based institutions in low-income AA communities and the ability to intervene in individuals identified to have CKD and increased CVD risk with F&V, with or without preparation instructions. Objectives: The study will prospectively compare changes in urine indices predictive of CKD progression and CVD in participants receiving, compared to those not receiving, preparation instructions along with F&V, six months after the intervention. Discussion: Addressing the challenge of increasing progression of early to more advanced stages of CKD with its increased CVD risk requires development of effective strategies to screen, identify, and intervene with individuals found to have CKD with effective, comparatively inexpensive, community-based, and scalable strategies to prevent CKD progression, particularly in low-income, AA communities.