Federal Grant Award Summary

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center received a $191,636 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded April 1, 2026, with a completion date of March 31, 2031. This award funds a longitudinal research study examining the relationships among food insecurity, loss of control eating, and cardiometabolic health risk in Hispanic/Latino adolescents. The research involves quantitative data collection at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month intervals, including fasting laboratory assessments of cardiometabolic health indicators at baseline and 6-month follow-up visits, combined with qualitative interviews of caregivers regarding intergenerational factors affecting eating behavior and community food access experiences.

The grant supports intervention development activities utilizing the Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials (ORBIT) Phase IA and IB methodology, which includes defining modifiable intervention targets, adapting evidence-based intervention components tailored to participant needs, and refining intervention content through focus group feedback. Additionally, the award provides career development support for the Principal Investigator, Dr. Bejarano, through mentorship in community-engaged research strategies with Hispanic/Latino populations, ORBIT intervention development, clinical trials methodology, and prevention science. Upon completion, these research outputs will inform the development of a preventive intervention designed to address disordered eating and cardiometabolic health risk in this high-risk population.