Peer Support for Lowering Blood Pressure among Adolescents: A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

This K01 career development proposal was developed to support Dr. Shakia Hardy, a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), in her path towards becoming an independent researcher. The Candidate earned her PhD in Epidemiology in 2017 from UNC and has a strong record of published research in the fields of cardiovascular and social epidemiology. Her goal is to integrate her epidemiology skills with implementation science to develop an independent research program at the intersection of implementation and population science. Dr. Hardy’s research aims to reduce health disparities in cardiovascular disease through the modification of lifestyle behaviors that contribute to increased blood pressure in early life. Training: To accomplish her overall goal, Dr. Hardy has proposed an intensive mentored research plan that includes didactic education, and experiential learning in 1) intervention development, 2) implementation science for intervention delivery and evaluation, 3) design and conduct of randomized controlled trials, and 4) leadership skills for academic scientists. Mentorship: An interdisciplinary team of renowned scholars will mentor Dr. Hardy and provide ongoing guidance as she transitions to independence. Her mentoring team includes a Primary Mentor, Dr. Andrea Cherrington, co-Mentors, Dr. Paul Muntner, Dr. Nathalie Moise and Dr. Daniel Feig, and two content advisors. Each of these mentors are fully committed to this project and to Dr. Hardy’s success. Research: The prevalence of high BP, defined as systolic BP (SBP) ≥120 mm Hg or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥80 mm Hg, is twotimes higher (20% versus 10%) among Black versus white adolescents 13-17 years of age in the US. The availability of lifestyle behavior counseling in a clinical setting to lower BP is limited in rural communities due to long travel distances to access healthcare, limited funds for copayments, and ineffective provider-patient communication. The proposed K01 addresses this gap by developing and testing the feasibility and acceptability of a peer support intervention to lower BP among rural Black adolescents with high BP. First, Dr. Hardy will identify aspects of the rural environment that present barriers to lifestyle behavior change. Next, using the behavior change wheel for intervention development, she will develop and pilot test a peer support intervention devised to address these barriers. The successful completion of this project will lead to an R01grant submission to test the effectiveness of this peer support intervention in a multi-site clusterrandomized trial and allow Dr. Hardy to become an independent investigator contributing to reducing health disparities among adolescents, where lifestyle behavior change could preempt the development of racial disparities in BP and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.