Projects

The Smoker Cessation Navigator Program is a direct service, bidirectional program to help Chinese speaking smokers quit smoking, by using navigators to promote cessation services.

MISTER B was a preclinical, telephone-based patient navigation intervention designed to encourage colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among older Black men. Participants were randomized into three groups: 1) patient navigation by a community health worker for CRC screening; 2) motivational interviewing for blood pressure control by a trained counselor; or 3) both interventions. CRC screening was assessed at 6-month follow-up.

The CATCH program consists of a pragmatic trial at 6 hospitals in New York City (NYC). CATCH includes inpatient services, post-discharge care, and technical assistance. The primary aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of CATCH for increasing medication for addiction treatment (MAT) initiation and engagement among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD).

The ParentChild+ program (PC+) is a national, evidence-based literacy and parenting model which provides parents with knowledge and resources to build school readiness at home. Early learning specialists meet one-on-one with parents and their 16-48 month old children twice a week, and help build social-emotional, cognitive, and early literacy skills through reading, conversation, and play.

DREAM Atlanta was an evidence-based community health worker (CHW) intervention designed to improve blood pressure control among South Asian adults with diabetes and co-morbid hypertension in Atlanta, GA.

Project SAFE is a sexual health and youth empowerment program based in Brooklyn, NY. The program aims to prevent unintended pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS through evidence-based interventions within a youth development framework, building upon the existing strengths of young people. Youth between the ages of 10 and 24 are trained to provide life-saving information to their peers through workshops, performances, and community outreach.

CLIP consists of a cluster randomized trial of 20 barbershops among Black men with elevated blood pressure (BP) or Stage 1 hypertension. The effect of the Barbershop-based Facilitation (BF) strategy will be compared to self-directed control participants on BP reduction, HTN prevention, linkage to care, and adoption of CLIP at 12 months. It is hypothesized that men in barbershops randomized to the BF strategy will exhibit greater BP reduction, higher rates of linkages to care, and lower rates of incident HTN compared to men in the self-directed control barbershops.

RADx 2.0 consists of: 1) Engaging New York City (NYC) public housing residents and project stakeholders in a series of virtual focus groups to explore and identify acceptable COVID-19 testing options; and 2) A cluster randomized controlled trial that uses teams of CHWs, youth resident navigators (RNs), and CBO staff to provide COVID-19 rapid antigen at-home test kits to residents of an expanded list of NYC housing developments in the same neighborhoods as RADx 1.0.

The UPLIFT 2.0 program (Using Practice and Learning to Increase Favorable Thoughts) is one arm on the NYU Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) study. The UPLIFT program is a group-based program that teaches depression self-management skills to people with epilepsy and elevated depression symptoms. The second arm is BOOST (Bringing Our Strength Together), a group-based support program for people with epilepsy.

The Chinese American Research and Education (CARE) project examines the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a social-media based intervention on glycemic control in Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes. Intervention participants receive culturally and linguistically tailored diabetes self-management videos for 12 weeks, as well as biweekly phone calls from a community health worker related to diabetes self-management and goal achievement barriers.

The Beatrice W. Welters Breast Health Outreach and Navigation Program educates women about breast cancer and the importance of screening. Patient navigators identify women through outreach and educational programs in community venues, such as churches, mosques, and beauty salons, and help to secure breast health services such as mammograms.

Healthy Families Sunset Park Program is an evidence-based, voluntary, and free of charge home visiting model designed to provide services to families located in 9 zip codes in south Brooklyn, starting prenatally or at birth, and continuing through age 5. The program matches every family with a home visitor who provides information and supportive services during pregnancy and early childhood. The program uses an infant mental health/relational development approach that promotes parent-child attachment to achieve the mission of preventing child abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood outcomes.

The Health Home Program within the Patient Navigation Center at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn utilizes Care Managers and Community Health Workers who use Motivational Interviewing to promote behavior change within high risk, underserved populations on Medicaid. In addition, the Health Home team helps this population navigate care across the care continuum and address SDOH to ultimately improve health outcomes.

The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) 1.0 initiative consisted of: 1) Engaging New York City (NYC) public housing residents and project stakeholders in a series of virtual focus groups to explore and identify acceptable COVID-19 testing options; and 2) A cluster randomized controlled trial using teams of community health workers (CHWs) and resident navigators (RNs) to provide tailored COVID-19 testing options to residents in 6 NYC public housing developments.

The Prostate Cancer Screening Program is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a CHW-led, decision coaching program to facilitate shared decision making for prostate cancer screening decisions by Black men at a federally qualified health center in New York City (NYC).

Project IMPACT was a randomized-controlled trial situated within community-based primary care practices that primarily served South Asian patients in New York City (NYC). South Asian individuals diagnosed with hypertension were invited to participate. The main outcome was blood pressure control at 6-month follow-up.

The High-Risk Clinic with the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone have a dedicated team to help patients manage chronic conditions. Working closely with patients, they create a care plan that fits their needs and lifestyle.

The REACH FAR Keep on Track (KOT) Intervention was implemented in four Asian American faith-based communities in metropolitan New York City and New Jersey. The program included regularly scheduled screening and counseling events with congregants. Outcomes included reductions in blood pressure and increased health-related self-efficacy.

The Patient-Centered Stomach Cancer Prevention in Chinese Americans study aims to assess the efficacy, adoption, and impact of an integrated intervention to improve adherence to recommended stomach cancer prevention guidelines (H. pylori test-and-treat) for at-risk Chinese Americans in NYC. The intervention includes linked EHR tools and a CHW-led stomach cancer prevention curriculum.

The DREAM (Diabetes Research, Education, and Action for Minorities) intervention was a two-arm, randomized controlled trial designed to assess the efficacy of a community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve diabetes management and control among Bangladeshi immigrants with type 2 diabetes.

Project AsPIRE (Asian American Partnerships in Research and Empowerment) was a CHW intervention designed to improve hypertension management and cardiovascular disease risk factors among Filipino Americans with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) in New York City (NYC).

Stamp Out Cancer Brooklyn (SOCB) is a community-based initiative that focuses on cancer prevention and reducing gaps in receiving cancer care in Brooklyn. The project aims to reduce cancer-related disparities and the overall burden of cancer.

Muslim Americans Reaching for Health and Building Alliances (MARHABA) was a social marketing-informed, lay health worker (LHW) intervention with patient navigation (PN) designed to increase breast and cervical cancer screening among Muslim women in New York City. Muslim women were eligible if they were overdue for a mammogram and/or a Pap test.

The Health + Housing Project was a CHW program located in subsidized housing in New York City, which aimed to address the residents’ self-identified health-related needs, including social and economic risk factors. The goal of the project was to expand CHW models by designating subsidized housing as the recruitment and intervention site, inviting all adult residents to participate.

Project RICE was a five-year, community-driven initiative designed to develop, implement, and test a community health worker (CHW) program designed to promote diabetes prevention among Korean and South Asian American immigrants at risk for diabetes in New York City (NYC). Participants in the intervention arm received six educational group sessions over the course of 6 months, while control group participants received only the first session. Primary outcome measures included change in weight, change in body mass index (BMI), and change in hip-to-waist ratio measurements over 6-months.

The Diabetes Research, Education, and Action for Minorities (DREAM) Initiative was a 5-year, randomized controlled trial integrating CHW and EHR approaches into a network of NYC primary care practices to support: 1) weight loss among South Asian patients at risk for diabetes; and 2) HbA1c reduction among South Asian patients with diabetes. The intervention assesses the feasibility, adoption, and impact of integrating CHW-led health coaching with an EHR-based intervention in primary care settings.