Native Healthy Lifestyle:

A Return to Balance

News and Events

 

 

 

The Balance Study is now screening for participants.

 

Call to set up your screening appointment:

 

In Anadarko:

(405) 247-2300

 

In Lawton:

(580) 248-7715

 

 

Did you see us on the Channel 7 news in Lawton? Click below for the full story and video:

 

Study encourages Native Americans to return to traditional diet

 

Some Native Americans to participate in health study
Text Box: About the study Native Healthy Lifestyle: A Return to Balance (the Balance study) is a community responsive intervention study designed to help reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) in American Indians. This study is designed to provide a holistic approach to behavioral and lifestyle modification. The Balance study will incorporate four components to modify the behavior that leads to heart disease. These approaches are cultural/spiritual, emotional/motivational, nourishment/nutritional, and physical fitness/exercise. The Purpose of the Balance study The Balance study aims to help American Indian adults who have a high risk of developing CVD form healthy habits in diet and physical activity to reduce CVD risk. We will compare the effects of this behavioral intervention to those providing the usual advice and information on how to prevent cardiovascular disease. How the study is conducted About 600 people will be screened for this study, and about 200 with a high risk of developing CVD will be selected to participate. Those who are eligible to participate will randomly be placed in one of two groups. One group will receive advice and information about how to prevent the development of CVD, including educational material developed in this study. The other group will receive an intervention that addresses the following four important areas of daily life: cultural/spiritual, emotional/motivational, nourishment/nutritional, and physical fitness/exercise. Each participant will undergo several common tests and procedures every six months for two years including blood and urine tests, blood pressure readings, questionnaires on health behaviors and CVD risk appraisals. Data collected will be kept confidential. Who We Are Investigators and staff at the Center for American Indian Health Research in the College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will conduct the Balance study, funded with a cooperative agreement from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The project officer is Jared B. Jobe, Ph.D. This study is made possible with cooperation from the Seven Tribes of Southwestern Oklahoma and the Indian Health Service. Elisa T. Lee, Ph.D., is the principal investigator, and Melanie Johnson, M.Ed., is the project coordinator. In addition, many health professionals are contributing to the project including Tauqeer Ali, M.D., Ph.D., Claire Banks, M.S., Allen Knehans, Ph.D., Andrea Kriska, Ph.D., Everett Rhoades, M.D., Billy Rogers, M.S.P.H., Chelsea Southerland, Darryl Tonemah, Ph.D., Diane Willis, Ph.D., Jeunliang Yeh, Ph.D., Ying Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., and Robert Zumwalt. Field staff includes Rachel Allen, Donna Bussell, Lahoma Horse, Linda Poolaw, Julie Smith-Ross, and Amee Tahbonemah. Text Box: Visit the Center for American Indian Health Research