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. 2009 Oct;2(5):340-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1752-8062.2009.00155.x.

Feasibility of adolescents to conduct community-based participatory research on obesity and diabetes in rural Appalachia

Genevieve Bardwell  1 , Cathy Morton, Ann Chester, Petr Pancoska, Shama Buch, Alfred Cecchetti, Marcella Vecchio, Stephanie Paulsen, Stephen Groark, Robert A Branch
Affiliations

Feasibility of adolescents to conduct community-based participatory research on obesity and diabetes in rural Appalachia

Genevieve Bardwell et al. Clin Transl Sci. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has been advocated to translate advances in health care sciences to the community. We describe a novel approach applied to obesity management and diabetes prevention. This takes advantage of a network of science clubs organized by the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) for extracurricular activity of disadvantaged high school students in rural Appalachia. Physician scientists and educators provided an intensive summer course on CBPR, ethics, and study design on obesity management and diabetes prevention. Ethical certification for CBPR investigation was obtained for 210 students and 18 mentors for a study on the prevalence of obesity and Type II diabetes within their community. Over a 6-month period, 989 had a collection of complete analyzable data, of which 103 had diabetes. The proportion with obesity (BMI > or = 30) was over 50%. The frequency of diabetes was related to increasing BMI. When BMI > or = 40, the frequency approached 50%, and exhibited a clear familial distribution. We conclude that trained adolescents can effectively conduct CBPR, and obesity and diabetes are more prevalent than previously reported in this community. This experience provides encouragement to conduct future studies to infl uence weight management from high-risk populations in this medically disadvantaged community.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic partnership for community based participatory research for obesity management and diabetes prevention in West Virginia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influence of age on height and BMI in 989 subjects in rural Appalachia.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Map of West Virginia. Colored counties have HSTA Science Clubs. Drawing pins represent location of participating clubs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The frequency distribution of BMI in 886 nondiabetics and 103 diabetics in rural Appalachia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The change in frequency of diabetes with increasing BMI in rural Appalachia.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Example of sub‐graph weighted, oriented graph for a diabetic family. The diameter of each vertex is proportional to age corrected BMI; diabetics are identified as red, and nondiabetics as green. The source vertex is the father and the sink vertex is the mother.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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