# Building Community Capacity for Disability Prevention for Minority Elders

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $739,420

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Although minority elders represent the fastest growing segment of an aging US population, they have less
access to mental health care and prevention of disability, lagging well behind non-Latino whites, and suffering
significant disparities. Research suggests that a contributing factor may be an insufficient supply of
professional providers and the inability of evidence based treatments to reach and be acceptable to minority
elders. We have obtained promising results from a novel model of disability prevention, the Positive Minds
Strong Bodies (E-PMSB) intervention, embedded in the client’s neighborhood and culture to improve access,
quality of mental health outcomes and reduce disability. The proposed renewal tests whether an enhanced
PMSB intervention is acceptable in community-based organizations and community clinics, and allows
effectiveness to be strengthened through added maintenance components. We identified areas to strengthen
the intervention, to facilitate easier adoption at the organizational level, to increase mental health symptom
reduction beyond 6 months, and augment dosage of the exercise component. In Aim 2 we will assess
implementation readiness of the E-PMSB, to ensure that its package of interventions is feasible and can be
easily adopted, with reduced barriers to its sustainability. Informed by the Consolidated Framework for
Implementation Research (CFIR), we will assess facilitators and barriers to implementation. A learning
community consisting of community-based organizations (CBOs), clinical sites and academic partners will
share elements that have contributed to initial success and can strengthen the collaboration. For Aim 3, we will
create and evaluate a toolkit to disseminate the program, with a focus on developing cultural and age
appropriate evidence-based messaging, packaging, and an overview of the implementation process and
financing. This dynamic toolkit will be designed for use by community organizations, community health workers
(CHWs), exercise trainers, and program participants, targeting strategies for capacity building as well as
implementation. Drawing on the feedback from participating sites, we envision refining materials in the last 6
months of the project to have a lasting product that can be disseminated, and that not only facilitates positive
intervention outcomes but additionally support organizations to optimize implementation success, fidelity, and
sustainability.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971972
- **Project number:** 2R01AG046149-07A1
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** MARGARITA ALEGRIA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $739,420
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2014-08-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971972

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971972, Building Community Capacity for Disability Prevention for Minority Elders (2R01AG046149-07A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971972. Licensed CC0.

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