CHARLAR

Community Heart Health Actions for Senior Latinos at Risk (CHARLAR), funded in part by the Office of Health Disparities and The Colorado Health Foundation, aims to build healthier lifestyles in older adult Latinos (aged 50 years and older), lowering cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk through shared learning, involvement of the family and connection in the community. Weekly classes are delivered at select northwest Denver neighborhood locations by promotoras, who are bilingual outreach workers from within the Latino community. Promotoras provide education about disease prevention and use of community health-promoting resources. CHARLAR, which means "to chat" in Spanish, seeks to use ongoing dialogue to build comradery and social support among participants as they work towards enhancing knowledge and modifying lifestyles for healthy living.

The program:

1. Helps older adults learn to improve heart health through establishing new habits such as cooking with healthy ingredients, reading food labels, and walking regularly for excercise
2. Is culturally appropriate for Latinos in Denver
3. Includes family members for greater success of the program

Promotoras (bilingual community health workers) are hired from within the communities and trained to deliver the program. Program content includes:

• Risk factor screening for heart disease and diabetes
• Referral to local medical clinics for those identified to be “at risk”
• 12 weekly interactive education sessions that promote prevention of chronic disease, specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease
• Skill building activities that focus on nutrition and strategies for increasing physical activity
• Options to overcoming financial and time barriers to living a heart healthy lifestyle
• Practical tools for smoking cessation
• Walking and dancing groups

Community Partners: CREA Results, Padres Unidos, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and Servicios de la Raza.

CPC conducts ongoing evaluation of CHARLAR using a community-based participatory approach. To ensure the program meets the specific needs of older adult Latinos living in northwest Denver, input is sought from an established community advisory committee and program partners in each phase of the program including design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination. In addition, all findings are shared with the community as we strive to improve the health of older adults.

This program is improving physical activity, diet, knowledge and awareness of heart disease and diabetes risk among participants and increasing use of prevention resources in the community. Participants also enhance their skills to advocate for a healthy community.