The Washington Heights-Inwood Healthy Heart Program: a 6-year report from a disadvantaged urban setting.
OBJECTIVE
This report summarizes 6 years of experience in a large community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program in a predominately minority, urban setting.


METHODS
The program seeks to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in an area of approximately 240,000 people in New York, NY; this population includes many Latino immigrants of low educational attainment and socioeconomic status. All program materials were in Spanish and English and at a low literacy level.


RESULTS
Major elements that achieved high levels of reach and support were a marketing campaign promoting low-fat milk, exercise clubs, and a Spanish-language smoking cessation video. Program elements that did not meet expectations or were abandoned were school-based smoking prevention initiatives, cholesterol screening, and efforts to involve local physicians. At the end of 6 years, the program was transferred to a local community organization.


CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions are that it is feasible to implement a complex cardiovascular disease prevention program in a socially disadvantaged urban community; that additional evaluation research is needed; that such programs can be transferred from an academic center to a community organization; and that such programs are unlikely to be sustained effectively without external resources.
Shea
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Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
Basch
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Wechsler
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Lantigua
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D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015444:Exercise; D005380:Financing, Government; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D014505:Urban Population