Social support among African Americans with heart failure: Is there a role for community health advisors?

ObjectiveThe study had 2 objectives: (1) to gather the observations of community health advisors (CHAs) on the role of social support in the lives of African Americans; and (2) to develop a lay support intervention framework, on the basis of the existing literature and observations of CHAs, depicting how social support may address the needs of African American patients with heart failure.MethodsQualitative data were collected in semistructured interviews among 15 CHAs working in African American communities in Birmingham, Alabama.ResultsProminent themes included the challenge of meeting clients' overlapping health care and general life needs, the variation in social support received from family and friends, and the opportunities for CHAs to provide multiple types of social support to clients. CHAs also believed that their support activities could be implemented among populations with heart failure.ConclusionThe experience of CHAs with social support can inform a potential framework of a lay support intervention among African Americans with heart failure.