Physical activity intervention strategies in low-income communities funded by a $5M NIH grant for collaborative research at UTHealth Houston and The University of Texas at Austin

A five-year, $5 million grant will allow researchers from UTHealth Houston and The University of Texas at Austin to test how community-level interventions can improve health and reduce disparities in low-income communities in Central Texas.

The researchers’ previous study, STREETS, which focused on safe routes to school infrastructure and their impact on children’s physical activity, reinforced data that shows children’s physical activity decreases from elementary to middle school. This new grant allows investigators to engage with the community and implement strategies to reduce physical inactivity among adolescents in middle school and the surrounding community.

“Usually, when we promote physical activity, especially in the school setting, we focus on physical education, sports participation, and active recess. For this grant, we want to use strategies to incorporate physical activity into daily life and transportation,” said Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, CNS, multi-principal investigator of the study and regional dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin. “That is one of the study’s unique features: working with the community to co-create programs that work for their surrounding school and environments. The hope is that not only will it increase physical activity, but it’s more likely to be sustained over time.” Hoelscher is also the John P. McGovern Professor in Health Promotion and director of the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at UTHealth Houston.

Physical inactivity is a public health crisis in the United States, with less than a quarter of children and adolescents meeting physical activity guidelines. According to researchers, the decline of physical activity worsens in historically underserved communities. This project will focus on urban middle school communities and their surrounding catchment areas. 

“We are working together across UT System institutions, putting our brains and resources together for the greater good of our communities,” said Deborah Salvo, PhD, multi-principal investigator of the study, associate professor of kinesiology and health education, and director of Texas Center for Equity Promotion at UT Austin.

The study will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will identify community barriers and areas where opportunities for physical activity are less optimal. In the second phase, researchers will work with the community to create and test the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of physical activity intervention strategies. If successful, the researchers hope to expand these intervention methods across the U.S. to help reduce physical inactivity and disparities in noncommunicable diseases.

The research is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health (1R01MD019423-01).

Additional UTHealth Houston researchers include Andrew Springer, DrPH, MPH; Ethan Hunt, MPH, PhD; and Baojiang Chen, PhD, MS,. Other researchers include Alex Karner, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin; Leigh Ann Ganzar, DrPH, MPH, from Professional Data Analysts; and Jacob Smith, BS, from the National Organizations for Youth Safety.

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