MSCI candidate Victoria Thomas, MD, leads the PRAISE team
PRAISE Team members L-R: Timothy Thayer, MD; Dominique Mosley, VUSM MS3; Samantha Singal, VUSM MS3; Marjorie Butler, VUSM MS4; Victoria Thomas, MD, MSCI (’24); Stacy Desine, VUMC Clinical Translational Research Coordinator II; Marsalas Whitaker, VU PhD candidate
Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) candidate Victoria Thomas, MD, is leading the PRAISE team in various churches in metropolitan Nashville. Starting with Mt. Zion Baptist and Watson Grove Baptist churches, PRAISE seeks to eradicate awareness disparities around peripheral artery disease, PAD, which impacts more than eight million people in the United States. Current data indicates an increased burden of PAD and an increased risk of complications, such as limb amputation and death, among Black Americans, compared to White Americans. Ultimately, this leads to a significant health disparity. However, one underexplored aspect of the increased risk of adverse outcomes is a lack of knowledge of PAD.
Current methods of imparting medical information remain lacking, and new approaches are needed to reduce the incidence of PAD and its limb complications. Relationships between faith-based organizations and academic medical centers have existed for decades. The partnership between the two entities has been noted to help improve community health and reduce health disparities, particularly in the African American community.
PRAISE, PAD-Raise Awareness in Sacred Environments, aims to assess the knowledge of PAD in church-going Black and White Nashvillians aged 50 and older before and after an educational intervention. Dr. Thomas and her PRAISE team hypothesize that partnerships with churches will increase overall knowledge of PAD, improve the diagnosis of previously undiagnosed PAD, and provide avenues to decrease the health disparity by bringing awareness to Black Americans. Further, they hypothesize that familiarity with PAD in Black and White residents in Nashville is low but lower in Black residents based on national samples of hospital presentation.
PRAISE dates and locations for upcoming testing
Sunday, February 19, 2023, Second Missionary Baptist Church
Saturday, February 25, 2023, Galilee Missionary Baptist Church
Sunday, March 19, 2023, West End United Methodist Church
Sunday, March TBD, 2023, Woodmont Christian Church