Abstract P196: Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative Community and Faith Based Programs to Screen Hypertension

Abstract

Introduction: The Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative (MDHC) provides leadership in the Delta region to implement heart disease and stroke prevention interventions. Barbers Reaching Out To Educate on Routine Screenings (BROTHERS) is an innovative community based program whereby MDHC partners with existing barbershops to provide routine blood pressure screenings and referrals. The faith-based Delta Alliance for Congregational Health (DACH) supports the mission of its member churches to minister to their communities with regular cardiovascular health screenings and include community outreach events. The MDHC program started in 2008 and has devoted the last 2 years to screen residents’ blood pressure and help them to control it as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to track the community base initiatives outcomes. Methods: From October 2016 to March 2018, from all 18 counties of the Mississippi Delta region, 33 barbers participated in the BROTHERS program and completed a total of 4,926 blood pressure screening encounters of 4,301 individuals (97.6% (n= 3943) black; 71.14% (n=3060) male; mean age= 35.67, SD=13.92). Also 26 churches participated in the DACH program and completed a total of 2,658 blood pressure screening encounters of 1,987 individuals (94.5% (n=1877) black; 65.2% (n=1295) female; mean age= 52.62, SD=16.43). Results: Barbers screenings showed that 51.84% (n=1688) of men were pre-hypertensive while only 10.81% (n=352) had normal blood pressure. Among all, 16.2% (n=738) participants reported never having their blood pressure checked. Among men, 1,216 (37.34%) had hypertension while 26.8% (n=326) were currently taking blood pressure medications, 37.9% (n=459) were current smokers, 31% (n=375) had no insurance coverage and 46.7% (n=566) had no personal doctor. DACH screenings showed that 42.3% (n=842) of participants were pre-hypertensive and 40.46% (n=804) had hypertension. Among hypertensive participants, 63.8% (n=513) were aware of the high blood pressure status and 58.3% (n=469) were currently taking medications for high blood pressure. Conclusion: Health is determined in part by access to social and economic opportunities as well as the resources and support in communities. Because of the innovative health initiatives underway in the Mississippi Delta region, a new story is unfolding. Community based screenings help people to become familiar with their health status, educate them on various methods of prevention and intervention and help them to change their life style to have a healthier life. Each healthy step taken is one towards improved health and prosperity not only for our state, but for the entire country.