“Social Network Intervention for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Among Hispanic and Somali Adults: A Cluster Randomized Trial”
Annals of Behavioral Medicine - May 2026
Immigrants to the United States often face challenges from limited healthcare access and less healthy environments which contribute to rising obesity and cardiovascular risk. Social network interventions, where social networks (for example, friends and family) are used to promote positive behavior change, are a promising approach to improve health outcomes among difficult to reach populations. In this study, a social network intervention was conducted where 51 lay health promoters from Hispanic and Somali immigrant groups delivered a health promotion program to up to 12 members of their social networks for a total of 475 participants. Social networks were randomly assigned to receive the intervention immediately or after a delay of 1 year. Measurements were done at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months, and included measures of cardiovascular risk and weight. Compared with the delayed intervention group, participants in the early intervention groups showed a modest improvement of cardiovascular risk and clinically significant weight loss, suggesting that social network interventions hold promise in reducing the rise of obesity and cardiovascular risk accumulation after immigration.