The grants contribute to UofL’s strategic imperative to address health equity and serve as part of The Humana Foundation’s strategy to eliminate unjust and unnecessary barriers in health care.

“UofL continues to appreciate the support of The Humana Foundation in addressing health equity,” President Kim Schatzel said. “Their generous support will enable us to conduct the important work of engaging with communities of color to research the role of nutrition, food quality and diagnostic screening as they relate to heart health.”

“Every day, people face a multitude of choices that can affect their health and quality of life,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “In too many communities, these choices are limited by factors beyond their control. That is why we are expanding healthy choices for communities and eliminating social and structural barriers, so that more people can reach their full health potential.”

Each of the three-year grants will fund regional nutrition programs. The larger of the two grants is $1,037,000 and will support the DISPARITY Trial (Dietary Intervention for primary and Secondary Prevention And Plaque Regression Investigated with Computed TomographY). The grant will support cardiac disease screening and nutrition-based interventions to address cardiac health disparities among older Black adults in Louisville.

The second grant of $154,000 is earmarked for the H.E.A.R.T. of Louisville Project: Helping Everyone Address Risk Today. The funding will support the identification of members of the Black community in Louisville at-risk for coronary disease and enrollment into long-term nutrition and lifestyle interventions.

“Food insecurity is a major problem that correlates with health care disparities,” said cardiologist Kim Allan Williams Sr., chair of the UofL department of medicine. “Nutrition education and food quality issues plague our African-American community, keeping heart disease as the leading killer of Americans. Our trials will help detect disease in those who are at risk and manage those already diagnosed using lifestyle changes, medication, enhanced access to cardiac care and advanced diagnostic imaging.”

The programs funded by both grants will include efforts to create healthy emotional connections, as a vital part of a holistic approach to care and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition to support lifelong health and wellbeing.

Scott is one of five community members, along with health experts, psychologists and UofL faculty with expertise in health disparities, who helped design a health literacy campaign that began Nov. 14. The ‘Depression is Real’ campaign is aimed at helping African Americans in West Louisville find help for depression, a common but serious mental health condition. The effort will include radio ads, posters, TARC ads, website and social media posts, along with a public outreach component at grocery stores, churches and community centers.

“We know one in 10 African Americans struggle with depression; those with few resources are particularly susceptible due to mental health disparities like persistent discrimination, physiological and psychological stress and sometimes clinician implicit bias,” said Ryan Combs, PhD, MA, an assistant professor for the Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky, an entity of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Combs says health literacy is a critical factor for good health, and affects a person’s ability to navigate health services and make appropriate health decisions. He says the campaign messaging developed through community-based participatory research hopes to raise awareness and understanding of depression among West Louisville residents and improve outcomes for those living with depression. The key messages are: depression is real; you don’t have to suffer; you are not alone; and there are options to help you get better. The ads direct individuals to call 2-1-1, a phone line through Metro United Way dedicated to connecting people to needed services.

Scott says although she experienced depression for several months during her time of grief, it was her faith and church, along with her work in a labor and delivery unit at a local hospital, that helped her regain joy.

Although Scott recovered without the help of a health care provider, she understands that sometimes it is needed. But, she says it can be difficult for those in the African American community to seek help.

“Sometimes Black people are afraid to ask, we can be suspicious at times to even allow others to know we are struggling,” she said.

Scott says she hopes people facing depression will see the campaign messages and talk to someone who can help.

Depression is one of several topics Combs and his team will explore through the end of 2017 as part of the health literacy research project funded through the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness also is a partner on the ‘Depression is Real’ campaign, which runs through Dec. 25.