SHARE diabetes project looking for volunteers

The SHARE Project, an acronym for Stroke Health and Risk Education, is searching for volunteers and may be coming to your parish.

SHARE is a faith based, bilingual Spanish and English program, specifically developed for the Diocese of Corpus Christi by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

“This is a stroke prevention program,” project manager Emma Sais said. “We are looking for volunteers, and it is free.”

SHARE is an offshoot of another ongoing research program called BASIC, Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi, which has been conducted in the Corpus Christi area by Dr. Lewis B. Morgenstern, MD, and Director of the Stroke Program at the Cardiovascular Center.

The BASIC program, begun in 1995, is a community surveillance project that focuses on the differences and similarities of strokes in the Mexican American population and the non-Hispanic white population of Corpus Christi. The study has provided useful information, such as that most strokes are preventable, and that high blood pressure is the number one cause of stroke.

The SHARE project hopes to convince people to change their lifestyles to help prevent strokes. It began with conversations between Bishop Edmond Carmody and Grace Rank, RN on how the diocese, in partnership with the university, could improve the health of parishioners.

“Corpus Christi is a very important area for the research of stroke and stroke prevention,” Dr. Morgenstern said.  “These results have been published and have been studied all over the world. We are hoping that people will participate in the study so others may benefit.”

A community advisory board made up of registered nurses and diocesan priests, including Msgr. Mark Chamberlin, Msgr. Morgan Rowsome and Msgr. Michael Heras oversees the SHARE project.

Twenty-five parishes in the diocese volunteered to become part of the study, and from these, 10 parishes were selected at random to participate in the 12 to 18 month research project.

The 10 parishes selected include Corpus Christi Cathedral, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Most Precious Blood, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Paul the Apostle, Holy Family and Sacred Heart, all in Corpus Christi, and St. John Nepomucene and St. Anthony in Robstown.

Volunteers, who must be parishioners of the selected parish, will be paired into two-person teams. Partners may be friends, husband and wife, mother and daughter. Anyone may participate, whether they are diabetic or not.

When people sign up, SHARE staff takes their measurements of height, weight and blood pressure. Then a home visit is scheduled, which is a “baseline” interview, Sais said.

During the study, each participant receives five motivational calls about every six weeks. At the six-month point, a second interview is conducted by phone. At the 12-month and 18-month stages, project staff will conduct home visits.

 “We do not abandon the teams,” Sais said. “We work with them throughout the program.”

At some point in the study, each participant will receive a goodie bag with tools to help them. Each team member will get a pedometer, which will allow them to count steps. Partners will receive a physical activity book so they can start and maintain an exercise program. They will also get cookbooks with recipes for different ways of cooking, such as baking or steaming instead of frying.

Some risk factors of stroke are preventable, such as controlling obesity and diabetes by eating a healthy diet and exercising.

“From counting your steps to general gardening to wheel chair exercises, these basic activities can help increase physical movement,” Sais said.

With a goal of 800 participants from the 10 selected parishes, Sais and Morgenstern said they hope that everyone will consider taking advantage of this opportunity to improve their health.