Reducing CVD health disparities in Black women through addressing social determinants of health (SDOH): a scoping review

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disparities among Black American women can be linked directly to social determinants of health (SDOH). This scoping review examines the breadth and depth of existing literature on CVD risk reduction interventions in young-to-middle-aged women that address SDOH. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Google Scholar for relevant peer-reviewed articles published in English. We included studies if they reported on the feasibility, acceptability, or findings of a CVD risk reduction intervention, addressed at least one SDOH domain, and included Black women 18–45 years of age. Of the 2,533 studies screened, 5 studies were eligible for inclusion. Specific SDOH domains addressed included: social and community context and health-care access and quality. All but one study reported culturally tailored intervention components. Feasibility and acceptability of culturally tailored interventions was high among included studies examining this outcome. Recommendations for future research focused on the need for additional interventions that were culturally tailored to young- and middle-aged Black women. Future research should work to address existing evidence gaps via development and implementation of culturally tailored, CVD risk reduction and disease prevention interventions for young-to-middle-aged Black women that focus addressing SDOH, as these types of interventions demonstrate promise for reducing CVD health disparities among Black women.

KEYWORDS:

• African American
• community
• health disparities
• heart disease

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the authors of each included study, without whom this scoping review would not be possible. Thank you for your important work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding from Towson University’s Summer Research Grant [#15455]. The funders did not have a role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, or drafting of the manuscript.