# Community Health Worker-Led Church-Based Intervention for Eliminating Cardiovascular Health Disparities in African Americans

> **NIH NIH UG3** · TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2021 · $198,134

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The “Community Health Worker-Led (CHW) Church-Based Intervention for Eliminating Cardiovascular Health
Disparities in African Americans” (CHERISH) study is a clustered randomized control trial to test whether a
community health worker-led church-based multifaceted implementation strategy for applying the 2019
ACC/AHA Guidelines on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease will reduce cardiovascular health
disparities in African Americans in New Orleans and Bogalusa, Louisiana. However, low levels of trust in
doctors and researchers among African Americans is often a barrier to participation in research and clinical
care. CHWs offer an opportunity to understand how trust is built between communities and health systems, but
there is little empirical evidence. The process by which CHWs engender trust among community members is
largely anecdotal and theoretical. It is unknown how trust-building occurs, develops, grows, or terminates over
time, particularly in interventions to address CVD disparities. Research is needed to understand how CHWs
build trust among African Americans and other underserved groups to maximize the effectiveness of
interventions to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors for CVD. The purpose of this PA-21-071 Administrative
Supplement is to leverage the planning phase of the CHERISH study to identify the role of CHWs in
developing trust in providers and researchers. Our central hypothesis is that CHWs can be used to improve
trust in providers and researchers. The rationale for the proposed research is that CHWs act as trust
intermediaries that increase the likelihood of cooperation (e.g., adherence to physician visit appointments and
treatment recommendations) between African Americans and their providers. To test our central hypothesis
and, thereby, attain the overall objective, we will pursue the following objectives in parallel with the UH3
planning phase of the CHERISH study: (1) Identify community health worker-led trust-building interventions
through a systematic review of the literature. (2) Identify the factors that influence the perceived trustworthiness
of community health workers through CHERISH study focus groups. (3) Develop a measurement tool to
assess the level of trust between patients and community health workers. The project will provide preliminary
data for an application for an R01 to assess the effectiveness of a CHW-led trust-building intervention among
African Americans with risk factors for CVD. The design of the intervention will be informed by the systematic
review of the literature, focus groups, and the CHW trust measure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10414464
- **Project number:** 3UG3HL151309-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiang He
- **Activity code:** UG3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $198,134
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-10 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10414464

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10414464, Community Health Worker-Led Church-Based Intervention for Eliminating Cardiovascular Health Disparities in African Americans (3UG3HL151309-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10414464. Licensed CC0.

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