Marylyn McEwen
Associate Professor, College of Nursing
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive, chronic disease in which self-management of the disease is crucial to achieving glycemic control. 
Engaging in diabetes self management activities has been challenging for Hispanics, and traditional interventions to improve self-management behavior have been marginally effective. Promotoras (community health workers) have made significant culturally relevant contributions to reducing Hispanic health disparities. However, the effectiveness of the Promotoras in promoting self management behaviors among persons with diabetes has not been evaluated. 

The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of providing a diabetes education and social support intervention delivered by promotoras to Hispanics patients to help them improve self management of their disease. Promotoras will be recruited and trained to provide an educational program to twenty Hispanic adults with diabetes, ages 18 – 65, who live in the Sunnyside-Elvira neighborhood in South Tucson. The educational program will be provided through a series of monthly group sessions and personal home visits. Data collection (questionnaires, anthropometric measures, physiological measures) will be conducted during pre- and post-intervention sessions. In the final phase of the study, the Promotoras will conduct a participant focus group to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the educational program. Findings from this study will be used to develop a larger, multi-site investigation for enhancing the diabetes self-management capacity of Hispanics with type 2 diabetes.

Denise Wolf
Coordinator, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Health Promotion Sciences
Community Development and Evaluation of a Culturally Based Participatory Action Project for American Indian Youth to Enhance Sense of Coherence and Self Concept and Prevent Substance Abuse
The purpose of this pilot project is to have selected youth participate in a culturally based participatory action project in their community (Hardrock Chapter, Navajo Nation) to determine strength/resiliency factors protective against substance abuse. Up to twenty youth will be recruited as participants to engage in oral history taking and creative arts to identify individual and community strengths that are protective factors against substance abuse. 

The project will use descriptive ethnographic methods to delineate the meanings and context related to constructions of hope, coherence, and resiliency in terms of substance abuse avoidance.  The youth collaborators will directly contribute to the improvement of future prevention projects for their community and also evaluate their experiences subjectively.   In addition to building a theoretical model, the youth collaborators will use applied methodologies to create a peer prevention activity based upon the results of their research. 

Dr. Lynda Bergsma
Assistant Professor, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Media Wise Families
The Media Wise Program is a media and literacy-based prevention education outreach program for Latino families that utilizes a family/community-based empowerment education approach to build community capacity to deal with substance use and abuse issues through media analysis, activism, and advocacy. The purpose of the program is to give family members the skills they need to more effectively evaluate the messages they see in the mass media about alcohol and tobacco use/abuse and to instill in them the confidence and knowledge to make healthy, life-affirming choices. The program uses a training of trainers model: Core families will be selected to receive the training in a series of two workshops. These core families will then provide peer training to an additional 4 families each.

Maia Ingram
Program Director, Rural Health Office
The Animadora Project
The purpose of the Animadora Project is to identify factors related to the attainment of regular physical activity among a low-income, Hispanic population with diabetes. The objectives of the project are to implement a group physical activity intervention that seeks to foster self-efficacy and social support for physical activity, and to investigate the relationship between social support and self-efficacy in sustaining an exercise program.

Animadoras (group leaders) will be selected to receive training, which includes a component on leadership and on how to safely engage in physical activity. They will be expected to meet at least 3 times weekly.

Dr. Xenia King
Research Associate, Family & Community Medicine
Examining the Health & Well-Being of the Children & Youth of Hardrock Chapter
The purpose of this cross-sectional pilot study is to collect qualitative and quantitative self-report baseline information about the health and well-being of 200 male and female youth, ages 8 - 16 in Hardrock Chapter (on the Navajo Reservation), in order to explore the impact of forced parental relocation on their health, to identify coping strategies used by these young people in dealing with adverse conditions (drugs, alcohol, violence), and to assess the usefulness of existing community interventions for this population group (Hardrock Youth Programs).

Previous Studies

Dr. Norma Gray
Assistant Professor, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Health Promotion Sciences
Effectiveness of Culturally Focused Skills Training for Native Children to Enhance Self-Concept and Prevent Substance Use
A culturally based children’s wellness and substance use prevention program was developed with participation of Tribal elders and community members. Six three-hour group sessions focused on increasing wellness, self-concept, and stress reduction/conflict resolution skills within the context of Tribal culture and history. The participants were the children of women in a ten-session women’s wellness program and they ranged in age from 7 to 12 years. They completed interviews before and approximately 3 – 6 months after participating in the six sessions. The interviews focused on risk and protective factors including self-concept and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger. Twenty-eight children completed the program and the follow-up interview. Results demonstrated significant improvement in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger. These results suggest that a brief intervention of this type may enhance children’s ability to stay healthy and maintain resiliency as they cope with life stress.

Dr. Andrea Romero
Assistant Professor, Mexican American Studies
Preventing Substance Use in Latino Youth: "Juventud del S.O.L. (Saludable, Orgulloso y Latino) II."
This program used hip-hop music and a dance program to promote ethnic pride and to prevent substance abuse among youth. The program consisted of eight in-class sessions conducted by health educators and graduate/undergraduate students. Forty-five youth in K-7 participated in the program; the youth were predominantly Mexican American and American Indian. Results of the program indicated that it was effective in preventing and decreasing substance use.

Dr. Anabel Hill
Assistant Professor, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Epidemiology & Biostatistics
A User-Friendly, Searchable Database of Effective Adolescent Obesity Treatment and Prevention Programs
This project established a database of obesity treatment programs that target primarily minority adolescents. Over 100 studies were identified that provide qualitative and quantitative information. The studies have been summarized and categorized and entered into the database.

Dr. Lisa Staten
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Health Promotion Sciences
Validating Self-Reported Physical Activity by Mexican Americans Participating in Community Programs
This project followed participants through a 12 week cardiovascular and diabetes primary prevention program. The health changes of these participants were measured using glucose level, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, and waist and hip circumference at the beginning and end of the program as well as 3 months later to assess continued improvements.