Research Studies

Principal Investigators

Steven K. Rothschild, MD

Erin Emery, PhD

Study Summary

The BRIGHTEN-Heart trial tests the hypothesis that an enhanced primary care delivery system intervention which provides evidence-based, patient-centered mental health services targeting depression and cardiovascular risk factors can reduce the risk of development of cardiovascular disease in low-income elderly blacks and Hispanics. In this intervention, specialty providers including geropsychologists, social workers, pharmacists, nutritionists, chaplains, occupational therapists, and others collaborate via the internet as a virtual team. The study determines if such a virtual interdisciplinary clinical team collaboration can reduce depression in older (age ≥65) minority adults with comorbid depression and metabolic syndrome.

Major Publications

• Design Paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5975636/
• Primary Outcome(s): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30382712/

Principal Investigator           

Steven K. Rothschild, MD

Study Summary 

The MATCH study (Mexican-American Trial of Community Health Workers) tests the hypothesis that the use of indigenous Community Health Workers (CHWs), recruited from the target community and trained to provide culturally appropriate diabetes education, can promote pro-active self-management among inner-city dwelling Mexican-Americans with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study aims are to demonstrate that a CHW, compared to an attention control, will: 1) result in improvement in short term physiologic outcomes (Hemoglobin A1c levels and blood pressure), and 2) result in increased frequency of self-management behaviors (daily blood glucose self-monitoring, medication adherence, adherence to diet and physical activity recommendations). The study design is a single site, partially blinded, randomized controlled trial of 144 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Major Publications

• Design Paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22115970/
• Primary Outcome(s): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23947316/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20008279/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35985028/

Principal Investigator

Steven K. Rothschild, MD

Study Summary

The MATCH2 Study (The Multi-clinic Action Trial to Control Hyperglycemia and Hypertension) is a randomized controlled trial comparing two educational approaches to improve glucose and blood pressure control in African American and Latino adults with type 2 diabetes. The study is being designed and implemented using a Community Based Participatory Research approach to optimize the two educational approaches. One approach, Enhanced Home-based Education, adapts a Community Health Worker (CHW) intervention from the protocol of the prior Mexican-American Trial of Community Health workers (MATCH). The other approach, Enhanced Clinic Based Education, uses a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) to deliver dietary and general self-management education. The study seeks to determine if Community Health Workers working as part of the primary care clinical team can reduce health disparities and improve outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Major Publications

Design Paper: In progress

Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Lynch, PhD

Study Summary 

The primary aim of the LIFE study is to compare low-income African American diabetes patients in a lifestyle intervention group with those in a standard of care control group on change in glycemic control at 12-months. We hypothesize that, on average, participants in the intervention group will achieve greater glycemic control at 12-months relative to their baseline A1c, than those in the control group.

Major Publications

• Design Paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25245954
• Baseline Paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28239013
• Primary Outcome(s): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30963440

Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Lynch, PhD

Study Summary

West Side Alive (WSA) is a partnership among pastors, church members and health researchers with the goal of improving health in the churches and surrounding community in the West Side of Chicago, a highly segregated African American area of Chicago with high rates of premature mortality and social disadvantage. To inform health intervention development, WSA conducted a series of health screenings that took place in seven partner churches. Key measures included social determinants of health and healthcare access, depression and PTSD screeners, and measurement of cardiometabolic risk factors, including blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C (A1C). A total of 1106 adults were screened, consisting of WSA church members (n = 687), members of the local community served by the church (n = 339) and 80 individuals with unknown church status.

Major Publications

• Primary Outcome(s): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31399892/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33640231/

Chicago Site Investigator

Imke Janssen, PhD

Study Website                 

swanstudy.org

Study Summary 

The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multi-site longitudinal, epidemiologic study designed to examine the health of women during their middle years. The study examines the physical, biological, psychological, and social changes during this transitional period. 

Enrollment began in January 1996 and all seven clinical sites completed the baseline visit by December 1997. SWAN has completed screening, baseline and 16 follow-up visits. Visits have taken place approximately every year. The annual visit includes core components such as physical measures, fasting morning blood draw, interviewer-administered and self-administered questionnaires. Women were also given menstrual calendars to complete monthly over the next year. All questionnaires were translated into Spanish, Cantonese, and Japanese and could be administered by bilingual interviewers.

SWAN is currently in its sixth funding period, which includes a single in-person visit (17) for the whole cohort. In addition to the annual visit core components listed above, new measures of cognition, sleep, physical activity, cardiovascular health, social functioning, and urogenital and sexual health are being completed at visit 17.

The goal of SWAN research is to help scientists, health care providers and women learn how mid-life experiences affect health and quality of life during aging. The study is co-sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Major Publications

• https://www.swanstudy.org/publications/

Principal Investigator

Lynda Powell, PhD

Study Summary 

This study will test whether a self-management (SM) intervention, compared to usual care, will reduce the risk for adverse clinical outcome in patients with mild to moderate heart failure.

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18760125/ 
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20858878/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23743855/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19471136/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24063842/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26853954/

Principal Investigator

Lynda Powell, PhD

Study Summary 

The purpose of this study is to test whether a culturally sensitive self-management (SM) intervention, compared to an education only control, will reduce all-cause hospital days in patients with mild to moderate heart failure and household income less than $30,000 per year.

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29224641/

Principal Investigator

Lynda Powell, PhD

Study Summary 

The aim of this study is to develop an intervention that will produce a sustained improvement in physical activity and chronic stress as a means to slow the menopause-related accumulation of visceral adipose tissue in mid-life women.

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29736471/

Principal Investigator

Lynda Powell, PhD

Study Website

elmtrial.org

Study Summary 

This is a multi-center behavioral randomized trial with the aim of comparing a group-based lifestyle intervention with a self-directed lifestyle intervention on remission of the metabolic syndrome(MetS) over 2 years of follow-up. It is conducted on 618 individuals with the MetS in 5 sites across the U.S. The Group-Based program targets healthy eating, physical activity, and stress reduction and is based upon neuroscience studies showing that mindful habits provide resilience against the power of emotions to subvert intention, and social science studies showing that sustainability is enhanced by support from a health network. The Self-Directed program represents enhanced usual care based on what is currently offered in medicine and wearable technology for treatment of adults with MetS and its components. The primary outcome is remission of MetS at 2 years. 

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38215918/

Principal Investigator

Brad Appelhans, PhD

Study Summary 

This project examines behavioral and household characteristics associated with food purchasing patterns.

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30896220/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808311/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28399887/

Principal Investigator

Brad Appelhans, PhD

Study Summary 

Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals typically have poor outcomes in behavioral weight loss interventions, but the reasons for this are unknown. This project will characterize the mechanisms through which adverse daily experiences and present bias – a cognitive adaptation to harsh and unpredictable environments – account for disparities in weight loss outcomes.

Major Publications

In progress

Principal Investigator

Brad Appelhans, PhD

Study Summary 

Pediatric obesity interventions for low-income populations are increasingly delivered in children's homes, which may make treatment more accessible to families and enhance the potency of the intervention in several ways. This randomized trial will directly test whether delivering family-based behavioral interventions for pediatric overweight/obesity in the home setting improves weight loss outcomes in low-income children relative to medical center-based treatment. The trial will also quantify the cost-effectiveness of home visitation, and explore the mechanisms accounting for observed treatment effects.

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31740429/

Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Lynch, PhD

Study Website

alivefaithnetwork.org/KeepItMovin

Study Summary 

This is a 12-month multi-level behavioral cluster randomized trial testing a church-based intervention to improve physical function (PF) in African Americans with PF limitations. 

Major Publications

• In progress

Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Lynch, PhD

Study Website                 

alivefaithnetwork.org/abundantliving

Study Summary

This is a 12-month behavioral cluster-randomized trial testing a church-based intervention to reduce blood pressure in African Americans with uncontrolled blood pressure. 

Major Publications

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37127255/

Principal Investigator

Amanda Mathew

Study Website                 

rush.edu/clinical-trials/deq-study-nationwide-remote-study-help-smokers-increase-their-readiness-quit

Study Summary 

Tobacco use disorder is a chronic, relapsing health condition that necessitates a chronic care approach. However, traditional smoking cessation treatment programs allocate nearly all their resources only to those smokers who are willing to set a quit date. This is problematic because few smokers are ready to set a quit date at any given time, and a smoker's stated intention to quit can change rapidly.

One novel potential treatment strategy is to foster practice quitting (PQ), defined as attempting to not smoke for a few hours or days, without pressure or expectation to permanently quit. Although a growing body of evidence supports the role of practice quitting in fostering permanent quit attempts and cessation, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding which treatment strategies should be used to engage smokers in practice quitting. The proposed study will test the role of PQ counseling vs. Motivational Interviewing (MI) counseling, and NRT sampling (four-week supply of nicotine lozenges and patches) vs. none.

Major Publications

• In progress