In just 10 weeks, an app aiming to improve heart health among Black patients in religious communities has proven to be highly effective at changing behaviors and improving heart health, according to a new study in Circulation.[1]
The app, developed as part of the Fostering African American Improvement in Total Health (FAITH!) trial, was rolled out to 16 churches in Minnesota. Together, the churches recruited 85 participants to use the app, which includes culturally relevant education modules along with self-monitoring options to track diet and physical activity. Heart health was monitored using LS7 heart health scores.
"Our study is the first of its kind integrating an innovative, community-vetted, smartphone-based app into a randomized clinical trial to improve overall heart health among African Americans," LaPrincess Brewer, MD, a Mayo Clinic preventive cardiologist and principal investigator of the study, said in a statement about the app. "Our results are promising in that they demonstrate the potential of mobile technologies to positively influence health behaviors that are challenging to change: diet and physical activity."
Specifically, the percentage of participants with an “ideal” LS7 score jumped from 12.5% to 54.2% over the course of using the app. The LS7 score uses seven heart health indicators—smoking status, physical activity, body mass index, diet, blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure—to estimate cardiovascular disease risk.
The app’s success highlights the high potential for community-based interventions in developing successful programs to combat health disparities within specific communities. In addition to the fact that the program was promoted and used by church leaders, it also incorporated other communal aspects within the app itself.
For example, app users also had the option to post on a group sharing board within the app to discuss their progress or their struggles with others from their church, encouraging social support and community-building within the app. Additionally, thermometer-style goal charts for each church encouraged friendly competition between different groups.
“Future studies are warranted to assess the replicability of these findings in other geographic areas (both urban and rural) and the sustainability potential of the FAITH! App within a broader network of national and international faith-based organizations traditionally prioritizing individuals of African descent,” the study’s authors conclude.