The Village HeartBEAT (Building Education & Accountability Together) program is a collaborative program organized to reduce risk-factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) through African American and Hispanic/Latino Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) in Charlotte, NC. The overarching goal is to invest in FBOs as mutual business partners to adopt effective and sustainable policy, systems and environmental change (PSE) strategies to enhance healthier lifestyle choices, develop tobacco-free sites, implement sustainable physical activities and nutritional options.
VHB incorporates a 10-month FBOs competition team-challenge that uses a community-based framework to provide tools and resources to improve healthy outcomes.
The intervention is divided into three phases:
- Pre-Season (recruitment, needs and policy-assessments, action plans, joint-use agreements, competition rules, and pre-biometrics screenings)
- 16-Week Competition Season - "Championship Playoffs" (tracking health/wellness educational activities, post-biometric screenings, data collection and awards/recognitions)
- Post-Season (planning, information dissemination, evaluation and advocacy trainings)
OUR CORE COMPONENTS:
• Competition Challenge (10 Team Members)
• American Heart Association (AHA) Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change (PSE)
• Pre/Post-Biometric Screenings
• Digital Literacy
• Spanish 101
• CPR & First Aid Certification
• Tobacco Cessation Classes
• ‘With Every Heartbeat is Life,’ Curriculum Series Training
• AHA Healthy for Life Curriculum
• Nutrition Courses with Food Journaling & Healthy Cooking Demonstrations
• Custom Exercise Plans with Fitness Workshops
• Trained Health Ambassadors
• Check. Change. Control. Program
• The Million Hearts Initiative