Fueling Strong Hearts for a Strong South Carolina

Summary

South Carolina is home to many survivors of stroke. After leaving the hospital and finishing therapies, stroke survivors often do not have the supports they need to fully recover. Many live with problems for a long time after their stroke, such as trouble walking or doing everyday tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, or cooking. Research suggests that healthy habits, like moving more, eating well, and being at a healthy weight, can improve most of these disabilities. These habits can be hard to form alone though, especially in rural areas that may not have many healthy foods or places to exercise. Research-based programs can help people form healthy habits. These programs have not been tested in stroke survivors who have different needs though. The goal of this research project is to test StrongPeople StrongHearts, a health program, to see if it helps stroke survivors in South Carolina make better choices for their health and improve their quality of life. The program will be delivered online so that survivors in rural areas can be in the program. One group will also receive a weekly grocery box tailored to their needs to improve access to healthy foods. This study could help increase access to research-based programs for stroke survivors who do not have the supports they did soon after their stroke. This step is important for stroke survivors' long-term health and quality of life, the mission of the American Heart Association.

Description

Eligibility

Age range

45–80 years

Sex

All

Healthy volunteers

No

Interventions

• Behavioral
  Strong SC

  The Strong SC intervention combines the StrongPeople StrongHearts program with a supplemental medically tailored grocery program. The StrongPeople StrongHearts program is a 12-week group program, with two meetings per week, that incorporates education on nutrition and physical activity for weight management and cardiovascular health, as well as strength training and aerobic exercises. The supplemental MTG program will utilize a grocery delivery platform(s) to deliver a weekly medically tailored grocery box of produce worth approximately $30 (costs covered by grant funds). Box contents will be tailored by the PI, who is a registered dietitian licensed in South Carolina, to participants' nutrition needs and functional abilities (e.g., pre-cut vegetables for participants with limited hand functionality). Participants will receive an allotment of produce each week, as well as a recipe(s) and virtual cooking demonstration providing practical strategies on incorporating each week's produce.

• Behavioral
  StrongPeople StrongHearts

  The StrongPeople StrongHearts program is a 12-week group program, with two meetings per week, that incorporates education on nutrition and physical activity for weight management and cardiovascular health, as well as strength training and aerobic exercises. Participants of this intervention will receive a systematically adapted version of this program tailored to the physical capacities of the target population (chronic stroke survivors). The systematically adapted version of StrongPeople StrongHearts will be used across both experimental arms in this study.

Location