About the RICH Heart Program
The Research and Interventions for Cardiovascular Health (RICH) Heart Program was founded in 2004 when the University of Kentucky College of Nursing's Dr. Debra Moser and Dr. Terry Lennie envisioned a cardiovascular-focused program designed to improve the health of people with cardiovascular disease. Their goal was to provide a virtual and physical space where junior scientists could be mentored to become the next great generation of researchers taking on the problem of cardiovascular disease from a bio-behavioral perspective.
The RICH Heart team studies problems like poor self-care of heart failure or high cardiovascular disease risk from the perspective that these problems arise from social, psychological, environmental behavioral and physical sources. The team performs clinical research with people in the community, in clinics, and in hospitals to determine ways to improve self-care, health, quality of life and survival. They have been active in outreach efforts to the broad community with their research findings so that as many people benefit from the research as possible. The team consists of more than 30 research staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and faculty from the UK College of Nursing, across the University, the nation and the world.
The team of internationally recognized researchers is led by Dr. Debra Moser, professor and Linda C. Gill Chair of Cardiovascular Nursing. Her research has focused on improving outcomes in heart failure patients, those individuals at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease, and those with marked cardiovascular disease disparities. Dr. Moser uses bio-behavioral interventions in her research, interventions that include attention to problems like depression, lack of social support and difficulty with self-care, and she focuses on the socio-environmental factors (social determinants of health) that produce them.
The team's motto is "Our hearts are in research that improves cardiovascular health."
