Published On: 08.04.23 | 

By: Sunasia Sims

REACH Up and Out program tackles health disparities to empower Black women in the Deep South

Woman eating a fruit salad

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. (Getty Images)

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 (MHERC) 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.

REACH Up and Out (RUO): Toward a Healthier Lifestyle 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 UAB’s Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, from November 2009 through October 2011. The initial implementation 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. Modified as a train-the-trainer model, it was transformed from an academic center-led program to a community-led approach. Based on the research trial’s 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 UAB’s Division of Preventive Medicine and lead investigator for RUO, conducted focus groups in Selma; Jackson, Mississippi; and New Orleans. The aim of these focus groups: to identify barriers and facilitators to successful implementation within these communities.

The program implementation was tailored to each community, and trusted community partners were selected to implement it. Rural Health Medical Program Inc. in Selma and Shanks Health, Housing, Employment, Education, Training and Services in Jackson were invited to lead the program in their areas. MHERC facilitators trained supervisors from each organization, who in turn trained their own community health workers to instruct the classes.

“It was an environment where you talk about a lot of things, and you can ask questions, get answers and share information with one another. Our instructor was very methodical in her presentation, and she gave me an opportunity to ask questions and share thoughts with others,” said one participant.

The impact has been immediate, with participants reporting significant positive changes. They observed a decrease in their consumption of fried foods and an increase in their consumption of fruits and vegetables. Increased physical activity was reported as well.

“We went over nutrition labels, so I’m paying more attention to that when I’m around food or I’m shopping. I pay attention to calories, sugar and sodium. It makes you more conscious of what you’re eating,” said another participant.

“Translating evidence-based health promotion initiatives into programs that can be readily implemented by local organizations with few resources is an important strategy for improving health among populations that experience health disparities,” Bateman said. “We are so pleased to learn that the local partners in our pilot implementation were successful in implementing the program and that participants were able to make positive changes toward improving their health during the program.”

This story originally appeared on the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s UAB News website.