HPDP receives $3.1 million to study strategies to reduce heart disease, stroke
July 22, 2010 | |
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention has received a two-year, $3.1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research alternative ways to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Stacey Sheridan, MD, assistant professor in UNC’s School of Medicine and adjunct assistant professor in UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Public Health Leadership Program, will co-lead the study. Sheridan is also an alumna of the public health school’s Public Health Leadership Program.
The project will compare the effectiveness of a web-based program to that of a counselor-based program; both will focus on improving diet, physical activity and appropriate use of medication. The study will be based in five family practices in the North Carolina Family Medicine Research Network.
“Cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and stroke, continues to be the leading cause of death in the U.S.,” said Tom Keyserling, MD, associate professor at the UNC School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.
“Lifestyle and appropriate use of medication can greatly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, yet both are underused.”
The project is one of four initiatives at CDC Prevention Research Centers awarded almost $10 million in 2009 Recovery Act funding. The comparative effectiveness research studies examine alternative public health strategies to improve health and/or reduce the risk for chronic disease.
In addition to assessing the interventions’ impact on participants’ health, Keyserling said, the study will measure outcomes such as cost effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
|