This application develops a Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (TCC) for Health Disparities Research on Chronic Disease Prevention within the DHHS-defined Region 5 titled The Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions (FCHES). Core Academic Faculty and their community partners bring significant research and practical expertise in health equity efforts, behavioral health interventions and epidemiology, geography and the effects of built environment on health, and physical fitness and healthy eating in economically distressed, minority- majority communities. The TCC targets its initial activities within Flint, Michigan, with plans to extend the scope and reach of Center activities more generally across the state and nation. The proposed TCC focuses on 3 primary populations, including: (1) underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, (2) geographic areas with high concentrated poverty, and (3) medically underserved communities. Within Flint, Michigan, and across the region, these three populations reflect the most disparate populations and have the highest need for multi-level interventions, including policy-based approaches to prevent and reduce chronic diseases. The proposed research and activities of the TCC evaluates ways to act on the need for systemic- and policy-level interventions to ameliorate the ?downstream? disparities in morbidity and mortality among our most marginalized populations. Building on this body of work, the TCC will promote the most promising policy interventions to influence the systemic and structural ?upstream? factors that promote health inequalities. Our Center relies upon a systems approach and is transdisciplinary, collaborative, and translational. TCC activities will also include two community- based multilevel collaborative intervention research projects, one focused on prevention of chronic physical health disease/condition (specifically obesity and cardiovascular disease) and the other focused on prevention of chronic behavioral health disease/condition (specifically substance abuse and mental illness). Our behavioral health intervention program also has the potential to improve overall physical well-being for families. Our long- range goal is to eliminate disparities in physical and behavioral health developing, implementing and disseminating community-based multilevel interventions and creating sustainable health equity solutions in partnership with a broad cross-section of multi-sectorial stakeholders. The TCC?s Administrative Core will provide leadership for the Center?s overall strategic planning, including scientific leadership and oversight using a community-based approach and the core principles of CBPR. This Core will maintain external communications with the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and provide administrative support for all of the Center?s components, as well as facilitate the expansion of consortium partnerships under the umbrella of the Center. The Administrative Core will also coordinate, administer, guide, support, review, and manage TCC activities, and facilitate collaborations within and outside of the TCC.
| Sadler, Richard C; Hippensteel, Christopher; Nelson, Victoria et al. (2018) Community-engaged development of a GIS-based healthfulness index to shape health equity solutions. Soc Sci Med : |
