COMPUTER-ASSISTED CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION PROGRAM

A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS HAVE ELEVATED CHOLESTEROL LEVELS. RECENT ATP-NCEP GUIDELINES SUGGEST THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH A DIETARY INTERVENTION TO REDUCE THEIR CHOLESTEROL TO MORE DESIRABLE LEVELS. SELF-HELP PROCEDURES ARE ONE WAY THAT THE 100 MILLION AMERICANS WITH ELEVATED CHOLESTEROL LEVELS MAY BE ABLE TO LOWER THEIR LEVELS. IMPORTANTLY, PHYSICIAN INITIATED SELF-HELP PROGRAMS MAY BE THE ONLY WAY THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS CAN BE REACHED BY PUBLIC HEALTH EFFORTS. WE WILL DEVELOP A CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION PROGRAM THAT HAS, AS ITS PRIMARY FEATURE, A SMALL, HAND-HELD, FULLY DEDICATED COMPUTER. THE COMPUTER WILL RELY ON EXTANT TREATMENT CONCEPTS FROM NUTRITION, EXERCISE AND BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION INTERVENTIONS TO STRUCTURE A TREATMENT PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM WILL BE INDIVIDUALIZED FOR EACH USER BASED ON EATING AND ACTIVITY HABITS, BLOOD CHEMISTRY VALUES, FITNESS MEASURES AND SUBSEQUENT PROGRESS THROUGH THE PROGRAM. THE COMPUTER PROGRAM WILL GO THROUGH A SERIES OF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND FIELD TRIALS FOLLOWED BY TESTING WITH 29 HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC INDIVIDUALS. THIS GRANT ALSO INVOLVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCOMPANYING BIBLIOTHERAPY SUPPORT MATERIALS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A COMPUTER MONITOR THAT CAN BE TESTED IN A PHASE II EFFICACY TRIAL.