Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study
Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study
This study, the Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study (CHEERS), will be
 conducted in partnership with Chickasaw Nation. CHEERS comprises several mutually reinforcing
 strategies to improve blood pressure (BP) control in people with hypertension. Environmental
 strategies include the investigator's innovative "Packed Promise for a Healthy Heart" program
 that provides hypertensive adults ages 18 and older with a voucher for fresh vegetables and
 fruits (referred to as a "fresh check") and home delivered food boxes that contain Dietary
 Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)-approved ingredients for preparing low-salt, and
 traditional healthy Chickasaw meals. The study facilitates demonstrations of healthy cooking
 practices in participating communities. At the individual level, tribal members with
 uncontrolled hypertension will receive heart-healthy recipes (available at
 getfreshcooking.com) that are tailored to traditional Chickasaw diet and culture, educational
 materials, along with invitations to attend cooking demonstrations, fresh checks to improve
 access to fresh produce, and a Chickasaw Nation culturally-informed smartphone walking app
 called "AYA." At the policy level, CHEERS will culminate in a multimedia documentary
 presentation for tribal leadership detailing the intervention and featuring personal success
 stories by hypertensive community members. Study findings, including a health economics
 assessment, will be used to encourage policies for further expansion of the Packed Promise
 for a Healthy Heart Program; and policies promoting expansion of brick and mortar grocery
 outlets in rural Chickasaw communities.
This study is guided by the principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR).

 Aims and Methods: Co-led by an AI (Choctaw) Investigator, the study will:

 Aim #1: Evaluate CHEERS' ability to improve healthy food access by collecting quantitative
 data on changes in perceived ability to purchase and prepare healthy food, and by using
 qualitative methods to evaluate the reach, saturation, and acceptability of the CHEERS
 intervention.

 Aim #2: Measure the intervention's effect on change in BP and secondary outcomes among
 hypertensive community members with poorly controlled hypertension.

 Aim #3:Disseminate a multimedia documentary of the study's findings and evaluate the
 documentary's effect on tribal leaders across the Chickasaw Nation and other tribal
 communities.

 Innovation: This study will evaluate the effects of a multilevel, tribally-run, food
 environment intervention. The study will also be one of the few food environment
 interventions ever implemented in an AI community, and the first to objectively measure its
 effects on BP and BMI.

 Significance and Impact: Study findings, including a health economics assessment, will be
 used to encourage policies for further expansion of the Packed Promise for a Healthy Heart
 Program; and policies promoting expansion of brick and mortar grocery outlets in rural
 Chickasaw communities.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  ≥18 years old

 -  Self-identify as American Indian/Alaska Native

 -  Currently reside in the four communities and do not plan on moving for 12 months

 -  Not currently pregnant, or ≥ 6 weeks postpartum

 -  Ability to understand written and spoken English

 -  Ability and willingness to follow study protocols

 -  Self-reported previous diagnosis of hypertension by a medical professional and a
 measured systolic BP ≥ 130 mm Hg at time of enrollment or no previous hypertension
 diagnosis and a measured systolic BP ≥ 130 mm Hg at both the initial screening and
 prior to finalizing enrollment (i.e. on two separate days)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 - Anyone not meeting the aforementioned inclusion criteria