Heart Matters: Co-LEARN to Reduce CVD

Collaborate and Leverage Evidence in African American Rural Network (Co-LEARN) is an education program to reduce the burden of heart disease and its risks in five counties of rural North Carolina (Edgecombe, Franklin, Nash, Vance, and Warren counties). Co-LEARN has two components — a learning collaborative and Heart Matters. Heart Matters is a 12-month comprehensive lifestyle modification education program focused on lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, to decrease blood pressure. High-quality heart disease prevention programs help participants lower their risk in multiple ways, including eating less salt and fat, moving more, limiting alcohol intake, and losing weight. This program uses interactive individual and group educational sessions to help participants learn new information, build new skills, and set and track their goals over a year-long period. Sessions are led by community members trained to deliver the program and tailored for rural African American communities.

Heart Matters is a 12-month comprehensive lifestyle modification education program. Interactive individual and group educational sessions are led by community members trained to deliver the program, with diet and exercise experts from the community. The next phase engages small groups of community members to collaboratively develop an implementation strategy blueprint that builds organizational readiness, strengthens connection networks, and increases the efficacy of Heart Matters.