Department of Health and Human Services June 6, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office on Women's Health (OWH) and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) within the Office of Public Health and Science, and the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), are interested in establishing national faith-based and/or national community cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programs. The purpose of the programs is to reduce CVD mortality and morbidity among high-risk women in the United States through medical screening and risk behavior modification. The CVD prevention programs will be targeted towards high-risk racial and ethnic minority women, aged 40 years and older; however, all high-risk women shall be eligible to participate in the programs regardless of race, religion, or age. Each grantee shall implement one program in 10 faith-based or community-based sites across the United States, including urban and rural areas. The main goal will be for program participants to increase their level of physical activity and establish or maintain a healthy weight over the course of the program. The educational phase of the program shall consist of eight bi-weekly sessions that shall counsel women on all of the major risk factors for CVDsmoking, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, obesity, and physical inactivity while primarily focusing on controlling weight and increasing physical activity. The maintenance phase of the project shall consist of regularly scheduled, interactive maintenance sessions that shall be designed by program participants. During both phases, participants will be screened for all six major CVD risk factors. All counseling and maintenance sessions shall include small group discussions and a physical activity component focused on reducing risk. These awards focus on President Bush's agenda to broaden Federal efforts to work with faith-based and community organizations. As such, each applicant must either: (1) Be a national faith-based or national community organization that has a network of at least 10 sites across the United States with large populations of high-risk racial and ethnic minority women, aged 40 years and older, or (2) partner with a national faith-based or national community organization that has a network of at least 10 sites across the United States with large populations of high- risk racial and ethnic minority women, aged 40 years and older. Non- profit and for profit organizations that meet the above criteria are eligible to apply. Faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, tribal entities, educational institutions, community health centers, and government entities that meet the above criteria are also eligible and encouraged to apply.