CORE C-1. ANALYSIS CORE SPECIFIC AIMS The Analysis Core of the Native Elder Research Center (NERC) is focused broadly to accommodate the diverse research portfolio of the NERC and the Native Investigators (NIs) participating in the Native Investigator Development Program (NIDP). In serving the preparation of NIs to become independent scientists at work in aging-related research among older American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), Core C has 2 major responsibilities. The first is to identify, evaluate, and develop analytic methods to assess the influence of ethnocultural variability on the health of the older AI/AN population. The second is to support the NIs in: 1) conducting their Secondary Data Analysis Pilot Studies;2) developing and implementing their Primary Data Collection Pilot Studies;3) crafting their research grant applications, and 4) sustaining scientifically meritorious research and publications throughout their careers. This Core links a social and behavioral science perspective on operationalizing key ethnocultural constructs with epidemiological and biostatistical data analysis tools. An overarching principle is to expose the NIs to the analytic tools and methods that will yield valid, reliable results in distinct cultural contexts, especially as they pertain to health disparities. Jack Goldberg, PhD, Research Professor of Epidemiology directs the Analysis Core. Dr. Goldberg is a senior methodologist with more than 25 years of professional experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of observational and experimental studies. For the past 15 years he has teamed with Drs. Manson and Buchwald on numerous seminal studies involving AI/AN populations.
The specific aims of this Core, as they pertain to the older Native population, are to: 1) enhance the analytic strategies for assessing cultural variability and to better understand the impact of culture on health disparities, with special reference to improving treatment, services, and preventive interventions; 2) provide training and mentoring to the NIs in applied data analysis methods related to specific research questions about these health disparities; 3) develop and critically evaluate a catalogue of data sets containing information on the health of older AI/ANs that can used by NIs;and 4) develop rigorous scientific methods for study design, execution, and data analysis when working with Native communities. The Analysis Core supports the NI Secondary Data Analysis and Primary Data Collection Pilot Studies that are grounded in a dynamic, multi-componential framework focused on the quality of care that older Native people receive from the healthcare systems available to them, and on how these systems can induce, reinforce, and sustain desired change in their status and functioning. The NERC links closely with methodologists at both the UCD Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health (CAIANH) and the UW Partnerships for Native Health. This synergy between 2 large well-established programs, and their respective institutions'Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), provides added depth to the NERC, particularly in the area of data analytic approaches as applied to studies of aging and health disparities among Native communities. The Analysis Core staff collaborates with the RCMAR Coordinating Center in the analysis and dissemination of culturally sensitive measurement and research. The NERC Analysis Core has developed and continues to evolve innovative approaches to enabling young AI/AN investigators to acquire, apply, and stay abreast of the analytic tools necessary to conduct meritorious science. It contributes to the NERC's success in building, expanding, and sustaining the presence of Native people among emerging leaders in aging-related research specific to this special population.
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