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PO Box 360
Trenton, NJ 08625-0360

For Release:
November 14, 2013

Mary E. O'Dowd, M.P.H.
Commissioner

For Further Information Contact:
Office of Communications
(609) 984-7160

Christie Administration Announces $882,000 To Help Community Agencies Prevent Chronic Disease [En Español]

Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd today announced that 26 community, health and faith-based groups will receive $882,000 in grants to prevent chronic diseases in minority populations.  A total of $792,000 will be awarded to 22 organizations to focus on chronic diseases such as asthma, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and health disparities in infant mortality, immunization and mental health. Each organization will receive $36,000 in competitive grants being awarded by the Department's Community Health Disparity Prevention Mini-Grant Program.

An additional $90,000 will be awarded to four organizations to teach chronic disease self-management workshops in Korean, Chinese and Spanish.

"This funding will help our community partners prevent chronic diseases, which have a disproportionate impact on the health of minority populations," said Commissioner O'Dowd. "The organizations being funded will implement nationally recognized or evidence-based prevention strategies that known to improve health outcomes."

Minority populations are disproportionately impacted by chronic diseases. For example:

  • The prevalence of diabetes among Blacks (12.4%) and Hispanics (12.4%) is nearly double that of Whites (6.7%); the death rate from diabetes is significantly higher among Blacks (40.6) and Hispanics (22.9) compared to Whites (17.5), and Asians (13.7).
  • The death rate from stroke is significantly higher among Blacks (45.1 per) compared to Whites (31.9), Hispanics (20.2) and Asians (18.0).
  • The death rate from heart disease is significantly higher among Blacks (205.5) compared to Whites (189.3), Hispanics (106.9) and Asians (87.6).

***Rate data is per 100,000 population***

Carolyn Daniels, Executive Director of the Department's Office of Minority and Multicultural Health, explained that the grants will provide families and individuals with the educational knowledge, tools and resources to improve their health. "Grantees will use the funding to focus on areas of chronic illness and health disparities including: asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, immunization, mental health, obesity, violence and other areas," said Daniels.

The 22 organizations receiving Community Health Disparity Prevention Program Mini Grants in the amount of $36,000 are available at:http://www.nj.gov/health/omh/documents/omh_award_recommendation_summary.pdf

The four organizations receiving mini grants for outreach in languages other than English are available at: http://www.nj.gov/health/omh/documents/ommh_cdsmplot_award.pdf

 

Examples of Prevention Programs being funded include:

Chronic Disease Self-Management Program:
http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs/cdsmp.html

The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program is a workshop given two and a half hours, once a week, for six weeks, in community settings such as senior centers, churches, libraries and hospitals. People with different chronic health problems attend together. Workshops are facilitated by two trained leaders, one or both of whom are non-health professionals with chronic diseases themselves.

Asthma: Home-based Multi-trigger, Multi-component Interventions:
http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/interventions/community_guide.html

This home-based program provides evidence-based recommendations regarding asthma control. Interventions that target a wide variety of asthma triggers through home visits are beneficial in improving asthma outcomes.

National Diabetes Prevention Program:
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/

The National Diabetes Prevention Program is a public-private partnership of community organizations, private insurers, employers, health care organizations, and government agencies. These partners are working to establish local evidence-based lifestyle change programs for people at high risk for type 2 diabetes

Your Heart - Your Life:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/latino/eng_mnl.pdf

"Your Heart, Your Life" is a heart health manual created especially for Latino communities by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The manual is taught by community health workers and focuses on helping people build skills to make practical, lasting changes to help fight heart disease and to improve their health.

Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More:
http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/FaithfulFamilies/FaithfulFamilies.html

The Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More (FFESMM) program is a multi-level intervention that changes individual behavior, as well as practices and environments of faith communities in regards to healthy eating and physical activity. Resources for the program include a 9-session FFESMM curriculum and the Eating Smart and Moving More Planning Guide for Faith Communities.

Last Reviewed: 11/21/2013