In late November, officials with Meharry Medical College announced the medical school had been awarded $451,430 as part of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant program to launch Nashville REACH 2020, which targets African-American residents in the 37027 and 37208 zip codes of Nashville in an effort to improve health and decrease health disparities.
A main focus of the funding is on education, public policies, and evidence-based programming aimed at increasing the consumption of healthy foods and beverages. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the target areas constitute a food desert because of the lack of full-service grocery stores and access to fresh foods.
Margaret Hargreaves, PhD, professor of Internal Medicine at Meharry, is the principal investigator of the project and believes focusing on African-American residents in this area of Nashville will yield the best attempt at reducing health disparities. “This is an excellent opportunity to impact risk factors, such as obesity, that predispose residents in 37207 and 37208 to diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer,” said Hargreaves, who also serves as director of Meharry’s Prevention Research Unit. “African Americans suffer disproportionately from these chronic diseases more than Caucasian residents of Davidson County.”
The grant, which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, runs for three years subject to funds availability. In addition to Meharry, other key stakeholders involved in the project include the Tennessee Department of Health and the Nashville Health Disparities Coalition.
The lead organizations will work to form partnerships with churches, neighborhood associations and other local groups to address the factors that impede access to healthy foods. Representatives from the two neighborhoods were involved in creating the grant proposal so there is already community buy-in to try to bring about change. The goal is to favorably impact policies, systems and environmental factors to improve nutrition, prevent a host of chronic diseases, and lower overall healthcare costs.
The REACH initiative was launched in 1999 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services with a specific focus on racial and ethnic communities experiencing health disparities. For fiscal year 2014, 49 REACH grants totaling $34.9 million were announced. The Meharry project was the only REACH grant funded in the state of Tennessee.
To learn more about Nashville REACH 2020 and the Nashville Health Disparities Coalition, call 615-327-6927.
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