University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) and Harvard University School of Public Health (HSPH) have partnered with the Cherishing Our Hearts and Souls Coalition (COHS) of Roxbury (a Boston neighborhood comprised of 51% African Americans and 23% Hispanics) to establish an exploratory Center (P20) for Health and Health Care Disparities that is dedicated to Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The Healthy Options, Research, Interventions &Community Organizing Center (HORIZON Center) will: 1) conduct health disparities related research projects in partnership with COHS, 2) offer research training, with an emphasis in CBPR, to faculty, students, and community stakeholders, and 3) build a neighborhood based infrastructure that can partner with academic institutions in Boston to research and implement """"""""best practices"""""""" in CBPR and academic-community partnerships. UMass Boston was designated a minority-serving institution by the National Cancer Institute and is the lead partner in the HORIZON Center. The diverse characteristics and strengths reflected in both academic institutions and in the six-year old community coalition (COHS) set the stage for significant changes in cultural norms (public knowledge, attitudes and behaviors) and professional practices surrounding research activities and academic community partnerships. The implications of successfully engaging a diverse urban underserved community in health promotion activities, in research and in advancing the cause of research are nationally significant. We partner to further the research mission of COHS and its Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB). The HORIZON Center has 4 cores, 3 research projects and 6 pilot projects;all designed to strengthen the evidence-based practices and strategies for understanding and training practitioners in health disparities reduction. We propose to increase the number of local agencies, community organizations and residents that contribute to and participate in research, training, health promotion, and community organizing activities. The cores provide an infrastructure and process for the translation of research into innovative community outreach strategies, educational interventions and public policy initiatives. The Administrative Core provides overall support to the HORIZON Center by coordinating the other cores and projects. The Research Core supports the research projects which are investigating the behavioral, social, and biological sciences related to health disparities. The Community Engagement Core is responsible for projects that investigate the best practices for outreach and mobilization in an urban community. The Training Core is responsible for projects that implement and evaluate strategies for increasing the number of people who are trained and engaged in CBPR and from health disparity populations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Type
Exploratory Grants (P20)
Project #
5P20MD002290-05
Application #
8077401
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-DIG-C (52))
Program Officer
Tabor, Derrick C
Project Start
2007-09-30
Project End
2014-05-31
Budget Start
2011-06-01
Budget End
2014-05-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$1,060,391
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Massachusetts Boston
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
808008122
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02125
Ravenelle, Rebecca; Berman, Ariel K; La, Jeffrey et al. (2018) Sex matters: females in proestrus show greater diazepam anxiolysis and brain-derived neurotrophin factor- and parvalbumin-positive neurons than males. Eur J Neurosci 47:994-1002
O'Brien, Kymberlee M; Meyer, Jerrold; Tronick, Edward et al. (2017) Hair cortisol and lifetime discrimination: Moderation by subjective social status. Health Psychol Open 4:2055102917695176
Mian, Nicholas D; Godoy, Leandra; Eisenhower, Abbey S et al. (2016) Prevention Services for Externalizing and Anxiety Symptoms in Low-Income Children: the Role of Parent Preferences in Early Childhood. Prev Sci 17:83-92
Mian, Nicholas D; Eisenhower, Abbey S; Carter, Alice S (2015) Targeted prevention of childhood anxiety: engaging parents in an underserved community. Am J Community Psychol 55:58-69
Cholanian, Marina; Lobzova, Anna; Das, Bhargab et al. (2014) Digital holographic microscopy discriminates sex differences in medial prefrontal cortex GABA neurons following amphetamine sensitization. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 124:326-32
Ravenelle, Rebecca; Neugebauer, Nichole M; Niedzielak, Timothy et al. (2014) Sex differences in diazepam effects and parvalbumin-positive GABA neurons in trait anxiety Long Evans rats. Behav Brain Res 270:68-74
Ravenelle, R; Santolucito, H B; Byrnes, E M et al. (2014) Housing environment modulates physiological and behavioral responses to anxiogenic stimuli in trait anxiety male rats. Neuroscience 270:76-87
Berman, Ariel Kupfer; Lott, Rhonda B; Donaldson, S Tiffany (2014) Periodic maternal deprivation may modulate offspring anxiety-like behavior through mechanisms involving neuroplasticity in the amygdala. Brain Res Bull 101:7-11
Godoy, Leandra; Mian, Nicholas D; Eisenhower, Abbey S et al. (2014) Pathways to service receipt: modeling parent help-seeking for childhood mental health problems. Adm Policy Ment Health 41:469-79
Eisenhower, Abbey; Suyemoto, Karen; Lucchese, Fernanda et al. (2014) ""Which box should I check?"": examining standard check box approaches to measuring race and ethnicity. Health Serv Res 49:1034-55

Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications