MAFS awarded for many accomplishments

CHICAGO: It was a moment that South Asian community of Chicagoland will remember for many years to come when Metropolitan Asian Family Services (MAFS), a community based not for profit organization serving Indian and Pakistani seniors, was selected for 2013 Community-Engaged Research Partnership Award, on May 15.

The award was given by the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC), part of the Center for Community Health in Northwestern’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine.

RCC established Community-Engaged Research Partnership Award in 2012 and MAFS was selected this year for using community based participatory research approach to the project “South Asian Healthy Lifestyle Initiative” (SAHELI).

This project is led by Mrs. Santosh Kumar, Promila Mehtha, Himali Bharucha of MAFS along with Dr. Namratha Kandula and Dr. Swapna Dave, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Since March 2012 MAFS and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine are conducting heart disease prevention study for South Asians in the Chicago-area.

This study is one of the first of its kind and is funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Experts from Northwestern University are working with MAFS to reach out to South Asians because they have four times greater risk of heart disease compared to other communities across the globe. This program is aimed at understanding the multiple determinants of health, engaging South Asian immigrants in research, and expanding the reach of lifestyle interventions into immigrant communities that are often not reached by traditional healthcare systems.

The study teaches South Asians about healthy lifestyle and it includes information that is relevant to the South Asian diet and culture. The study team helps participants to eat better, become more active, reduce stress, and lose weight. The study also involves group classes and fun activities. The overall goal of the study is to help Indian and Pakistani community members to reduce their sedentary habits and improve their understanding for the choices of food.

In 2012 the study s helped many South Asian community members in bringing much change in their lifestyles through diet and exercise. This year too many South Asian community members have enrolled themselves to learn new techniques to live healthier and longer.

Naznin Begum