Program targets cardiovascular disease in the Avondale community
Phoenix, AZ. January 19, 2005-As part of the Healthy Avondale
Partnership, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, TGen,
began earlier this week conducting a health survey among residents
of Avondale. The partnership was formed as part of an initiative to
target cardiovascular disease in the Avondale community,
particularly the Hispanic community that comprises 46 percent of
Avondale residents.
The partnership includes the City of Avondale's Healthy Avondale
2010 initiative, TGen, Sun Health, a non-profit health care
provider, and the American Heart Association's Halle Heart Center
(HHC). It will undertake several projects with the purpose of
helping Avondale residents improve their health. The Chronic
Disease Program of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS)
sponsors these programs.
Interviewers from TGen will go door-to-door and ask residents to participate in this survey. This information will be used to make recommendations about how best to address the risk for chronic disease. Interviewers will be wearing a TGen ID, a TGen polo shirt and khaki slacks.
According to Dr. Johanna Wolford, head of the Diabetes Unit at TGen, "The Healthy Avondale partnership is significant in that it addresses the currently unmet health needs of the largely Hispanic community of Avondale, Arizona. TGen's role in this partnership is to obtain baseline data for dietary composition and physical activity levels and determine population-specific risk factors to address early disease detection and/or disease prevention in this high risk community."
To date, no other study has focused in this community where significant health disparities have been documented. If the effects of the intervention are positive, this approach may serve as a pilot for community-based interventions for chronic diseases, like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
not-for-profit organization whose primary mission is to make and
translate genomic discoveries into advances in human health.
Translational genomics research is a relatively new field employing
innovative advances arising from the human Genome Project to apply
to the development of diagnostics, prognostics and therapies for
cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes and other complex
diseases.
About Sun Health
Sun Health is a non-profit healthcare organization that exists to
serve all ages with excellence in medical care, wellness programs,
research and education. To find out more about Sun Health visit www.sunheatlh.org.
About Halle Heart Center
The American Heart Association's Halle Heart Center (HHC) will
provide educational information on cardiovascular disease and
stroke through community outreach and to schools. Fifth graders
throughout Avondale will be invited to tour the Halle Heart Center
museum. The HHC will also play a key role in the Healthy Avondale
Wellness Symposium planned for April 2005. To find out more about
the American Heart Association or the HHC, visit the website at www.americanheart.org/halleheartcenter.
For more information please contact Arminda Cockett, Healthy Avondale Community Health Liaison at (623) 478-3060 or log on to the Healthy Avondale 2010 website at www.healthvavondale.com.
