Date of Award

Summer 8-17-2026

Degree Type

Open Access Capstone

Community Engaged/Serving

Part of the UMass Boston Community-Engaged Teaching, Research, and Service Series. //scholarworks.umb.edu/engage

Keywords

Hypertension, cardiovascular disparity

Abstract

Hypertension and cardiovascular disease disproportionately affect Black adults age 40 and older in Boston's Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan neighborhoods, as heart disease mortality is three times higher among blacks than whites across Boston, and premature death rates are over twice as high in Dorchester and Roxbury as in richer neighborhoods. Historic redlining contributes to barriers in food access and is one factor behind Mattapan's highest age-adjusted mortality rate from heart disease in the city. These brief outlines a culturally concordant church-based Community Health Worker (CHW) intervention that includes a trained CHW who assists adults with uncontrolled hypertension in managing their home blood pressure (BP) readings, providing dietary counseling, supporting medication adherence, and explaining what to do if they need clinical or food-access resources. This is supported by evidence from a church-based pilot study, a systematic review of faith-based evidence, and a community intervention meta-analysis. The recommended policy will create formal clinical referral processes between church-based programs and community health centers and provide sustainable MassHealth reimbursement for CHW services, transforming a trusted but informally supported community-based structure into a sustainable, long-term pathway to reduce cardiovascular disparities among Black adults in Boston.

Comments

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