title: Evaluating cardiovascular disease prevention programs in African American communities.
abstract: This article reports on an evaluation of community cardiovascular disease prevention projects. The evaluation protocol involved a monitoring system for documenting community activities. It showed improvements in cardiovascular disease prevention services, community actions, planned products, and new or modified community programs to prevent cardiovascular disease. Reports from focus group sessions provided analyses of participants' perceived behaviors and satisfaction with eight community-based cardiovascular disease prevention projects in African American communities. Modest improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, dietary intake, and physical activity among a convenience sample of participants in the community were noted.
authors.affiliation: Resource Center for Cardiovascular Health, Michigan Public Health Institute, Okemos 48864-3814, USA. cpratt@mphi.org
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hurst
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003256:Community Participation; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*