Clinical Translational Research Seminar Series: Joanne Wilkinson, MD + Thaís São João, PhD, RN

As part of the Advance RI-CTR Clinical and Translational Research Seminar Series, Drs. Joanne Wilkinson and Thaís São João shared their early Advance RI-CTR Pilot Projects research. Joanne Wilkinson, MD, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Teaching Scholar at Kent Hospital/Care New England spoke on “Diabetes Health Equity for Urban Latinx Populations” Recent advances in diabetes care have been employed to improve outcomes in type 2 diabetes, namely GLP-1 medications, continuous glucose monitoring and low-carbohydrate diets. The uptake of these therapies in urban Latinx patients is unclear, but they are known to have suboptimal diabetes outcomes in a recent PBRN analysis. The project employs community-based participatory research methods to explore the ‘gap’ between availability of these newer therapies and their uptake in the local urban Latinx community. The primary community partner in this work is Progreso Latino. Thaís São João, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor and nurse researcher, Unversity of Rhode Island College of Nursing, spoke on “Commercial Fishermen in RI: A Pilot Study on Cardiometabolic Health and Productivity” Commercial fishermen represent a particularly vulnerable group within the Blue Economy (BE), enduring hazardous working conditions, strenuous labor, prolonged exposure to extreme weather, and irregular sleep and nutritional patterns. The health of these invisible workers holds significant implications for the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of fisheries, as it directly influences productivity. Despite their importance, no public data are available on fishermen’s cardiometabolic health and health behaviors in RI. However, sound evidence suggests elevated cardiometabolic risks, altered sleep patterns, and chronic stress in similar fishermen populations globally. This project examines commercial fishermen’s cardiometabolic health, protective and risk factors, quality of life (QoL), lifestyle behaviors, and productivity. The goal is to identify potential targets for intervention to improve commercial fishermen’s health behaviors, QoL, and cardiovascular health. A two-phase mixed-methods study was conducted. Phase 1 (qualitative) informed Phase 2 (quantitative), where biomarkers, health factors and behaviors, QoL, and productivity of commercial fishermen (n=59) are gathered. Recruitment began in January 2024, and data collection is ongoing. Since better cardiovascular health is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease death and all-cause mortality, the findings will provide a situational screening and inform the development of tailored theory-based preventive behavioral interventions. This talk was given on Thursday, November 14th, 2024

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