Biography

Dr. Tracey Lewis-Elligan was involved in two projects during her Community Health Scholars Year. One project, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Among Women, PHLAW, is a 5-year NIH funded community based randomized controlled clinical trial study. The overall aim of the project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention tailored to meet the needs of pregnant and postpartum African-American and Latino women in Detroit, Michigan. The intervention was designed to reduce behavioral and clinical risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. The healthy lifestyle intervention includes three goals: 1) to increase physical activity of women, 2) to increase fruit and vegetable intake and 3) to reduce fat and sugar intake. Dr. Lewis-Elligan's role in this project is to: 1) observe how a randomized controlled clinical trial study is conducted by applying CBPR principles, 2) to facilitate the process evaluation of the pilot study, and 3) to contribute to the curriculum development. Dr. Lewis-Elligan planned to participate in pilot testing newly developed aspects of the curriculum with community resident participants. The second project Dr. Lewis-Elligan was involved in is affiliated with the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership (ESVHWP). The ESVHWP was developed to investigate the social determinants of health and to improve the health of women, children, and families on Detroit's East Side. The ESVHWP incorporates CBPR principles and relies on a lay health worker intervention strategy to improve the lives of women, children, and families. Over the past seven years, the ESVHWP has worked in collaboration with Village Health Workers (VHWs) to address priority areas and objectives. One project called BEST-Building Early Self-Esteem Techniques was developed by a VHW, Yvette Banks, to address identified priority areas. BEST is a 4-week workshop that was developed to strengthen young women and children's self-esteem by incorporating the art of hair braiding. Dr. Lewis-Elligan's role in this project involved conducting a formative evaluation of BEST. The evaluation methods included participant observation, focus group, in-depth interviews, and CBPR principles. In collaboration with the advisory committee of BEST(which is made up of members from the Health Department, Community Based Organizations, VHWs, and University of Michigan) Dr. Lewis-Elligan evaluated the impact of this project and the feasibility and future direction of such a project.