Addressing non-medical health-related social needs through a community-based lifestyle intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Black Impact program.

BACKGROUND: Non-medical health-related social needs (social needs) are major contributors to worse health outcomes and may have an adverse impact on cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease. The present study evaluated the effect of a closed-loop community-based pathway in reducing social needs among Black men in a lifestyle change program. METHODS: Black men (n = 70) from a large Midwestern city participated in Black Impact, a 24-week community-based team lifestyle change single-arm pilot trial adapted from the Diabetes Prevention Program and American Heart Association's (AHA) Check, Change, Control Blood Pressure Self-Management Program, which incorporates AHA's Life's Simple 7 (LS7) framework. Participants were screened using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool. Participants with affirmative responses were referred to a community hub pathway to address social needs. The primary outcome for this analysis is change in social needs based on the CMS social needs survey at 12 and 24 weeks using mixed effect logistic regressions with random intercepts for each participant. Change in a LS7 score (range 0-14) from baseline to 12 and 24 weeks was evaluated using a linear mixed-effects model stratified by baseline social needs. RESULTS: Among 70 participants, the mean age of participants was 52 ±10.5 years. The men were sociodemographically diverse, with annual income ranging from <$20,000 (6%) to ≥$75,000 (23%). Forty-three percent had a college degree or higher level of education, 73% had private insurance, and 84% were employed. At baseline 57% of participants had at least one social need. Over 12 and 24 weeks, this was reduced to 37% (OR 0.33, 95%CI: 0.13, 0.85) and 44% (OR 0.50, 95%CI: 0.21, 1.16), respectively. There was no association of baseline social needs status with baseline LS7 score, and LS7 score improved over 12 and 24 weeks among men with and without social needs, with no evidence of a differential effect. CONCLUSIONS: The Black Impact lifestyle change single-arm pilot program showed that a referral to a closed-loop community-based hub reduced social needs in Black men. We found no association of social needs with baseline or change in LS7 scores. Further evaluation of community-based strategies to advance the attainment of LS7 and address social needs among Black men in larger trials is warranted.

Improving Maternal and Infant Child Health Outcomes with Community-Based Pregnancy Support Groups: Outcomes from Moms2B Ohio.

Objectives To describe temporal changes in maternal and child health outcomes in an impoverished urban community after the implementation of an innovative community-based pregnancy support program, named Moms2B. Methods Beginning in 2011, pregnant women in an urban impoverished community were recruited for participation in a community-based pregnancy support program focused on improving nutrition coupled with increasing social and medical support. The comprehensive program targeting pregnancy through the infants' first year of life was developed and staffed by a multidisciplinary team from an academic health system. As a preliminary effort to assess the effectiveness of Moms2B, we examined maternal and infant health characteristics in the community before and after implementation of the program. Results From 2011 to 2014, 195 pregnant women attended one or more Moms2B sessions at the Weinland Park (WP) location. Most (75%) were African American (AA) with incomes below $800 per month and significant medical and social stressors. Outcomes from the two WP census tracts before and after implementation of the Moms2B program were studied. From 2007 to 2010, there were 442 births in WP and 6 infant deaths for an infant mortality rate of 14.2/1000. In 2011-2014, the first four years of the Moms2B program there were 339 births and one infant death giving an IMR of 2.9/1000, nearly a five-fold reduction in the rate of an infant death. Among pregnant women in WP who were covered by Medicaid, the breastfeeding initiation rate improved from 37.9 to 75.5% (p < .01) after the introduction of Moms2B. There were no infant deaths among Moms2B participants at the WP location in the first four years of the program. Conclusions Implementation of an innovative community-based pregnancy support program was associated with important improvements in maternal and infant health in an impoverished neighborhood.