Improving awareness of women with hypertension: ROAR (Rural, Obese, At Risk) Career Enhancement Core

More than 1 in 3 women are living with heart disease and many are unaware of the risks. Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and ~47% of adults in the US have hypertension. In ~85% of cases, the cause of hypertension is unknown and only ~50% of patients taking medication achieve blood pressure (BP) control to recommended levels. A critical barrier to limiting premature death from CVD is lack of awareness surrounding the risks of CVD. The Career Enhancement Core (CEC) is designed to develop a comprehensive educational platform on SABV in CVD to increase awareness and education of CVD and the risks of uncontrolled hypertension in women across the health span through community outreach. The CEC is critical to the success of ROAR. The goals of the CEC are to develop a foundation for long-term relationships among the research, medical and lay communities in GA, MS and SC, and bring greater awareness to the risk of CVD in women and the consideration of SABV in the control of hypertension through education, mentorship, strategic partnerships, and training of community-engaged researchers. The ROAR-CEC has 3 objectives. Objective 1 is to develop a culturally diverse research pipeline of biomedical scientists trained in the field of SABV in CVD. This Objective will provide research career enhancement opportunities in SABV research, train a diverse scientific workforce, and promote mechanistic studies in SABV at different career stages. Objective 2 is to establish a community outreach pipeline of scientists trained to increase awareness of SABV and promote optimal cardiovascular healthcare for men and women. ROAR-CEC will leverage and strengthen existing community partnerships to engage in outreach to promote awareness about cardiovascular risk to men and women at local schools, colleges and HBCUs. Objective 3 is to empower the community to self-monitor and identify barriers to improving access to healthcare. This will be accomplished through innovative educational materials and qualitative assessment of barriers. ROAR-CEC takes a comprehensive approach to training and education in SABV in CVD and increasing community awareness of the risks of CVD. Our interdisciplinary team is uniquely prepared to address these important issues in at-risk populations in the Southern US. The impact of ROAR-CEC will be to train the next generation of scientists engaged in research related to women’s health and SABV, to change common perceptions and biases regarding women’s health and hypertension risk factors, and support the development of a new, self-aware, sustainable, and motivated community of researchers, educators, physicians and community members. ROAR will create synergy that will transform academic, clinical and community awareness of the importance of cardiovascular health in women.