Innovative Care Delivery Model to Address Obesity in Older African‐American Women: Senior Wellness Initiative and Take Off Pounds Sensibly Collaboration for Health ( SWITCH )

Objectives To determine the feasibility and acceptability of integrating Take Off Pounds Sensibly ( TOPS ), a national nonprofit weight‐loss program through which people have lost a clinically significant amount of weight, into a community program that serves A frican A mericans ( AA s) and to determine weight change. Design Single‐group pilot design. Setting Denver, Colorado. Participants Community‐dwelling participants aged 51 to 85. Intervention Participants were recruited through a program that serves AA s, and new TOPS chapters were started at a church, senior center, and senior residence for independent living. Measurements Feasibility was measured by determining the ease of recruitment and acceptability was measured according to retention. The secondary outcome was weight change. Results Sixty‐four percent of people who were referred to the program or attended an information session participated in the study. The retention rate at 52 weeks was 79%. At 52 weeks, 16 of 48 participants had lost 5% or more of their initial weight, and 23 had lost 0% to 4.9% of their initial weight. Conclusions Recruiting AA women through the Center for African American Health was feasible, and the program was acceptable. One‐third of participants lost a clinically significant amount of weight. TOPS may be one way to combat the health disparity of obesity in AA women.