Dr. Paranjape's goal for this proposal is to acquire the tools necessary to become a leader in the field of FV and to improve the healthcare of older women. Building upon an excellent training in primary care and basic epidemiological skills, Dr. Paranjape proposes a career development plan that (1) integrates mentoring by an inter-disciplinary sponsor team with didactic coursework and tutorials designed to expand her theoretical and methodological horizons and (2) includes a series of focused research projects to amplify and reinforce existing and acquired methodological skills. Family Violence (FV) is a major public health problem;injury and violence are among the top ten high public health priority areas identified in the Healthy People 2010 report. Although the health effects of FV in women have been well documented, the prevalence and health effects of FV, risk factors and screening methods for FV in older African American (AA) women, are still poorly understood. Thus, to begin to address this gap in our knowledge base, the specific aims of the research proposal are to: 1) develop and validate a scale that measures FV in older AA women 2) to identify the correlates of FV in this population, including individual factors, coping efforts and adjustment outcomes and 3) to develop a simple screening tool for FV in this population. This study will provide preliminary data for further research on the health effects of FV in older minority women. Dr. Kaslow, who is an extremely well-established and well funded investigator in the area of FV in AA women, will mentor Dr. Paranjape for the duration of this award, guiding her through the research and career development plan. An advisory council made up of Drs Ouslander, Kutner, Jacobson, Thompson, Rodriguez, Corbie-Smith, and Flacker, with complementary areas of expertise in aging, statistics, research in primary care, research in minority communities, and elder abuse research will also provide instruction in areas critical to Dr. Paranjape's career development plan. The research and training activities proposed herein will allow Dr. Paranjape to submit an R01 grant towards the end of the award period, providing a timely catalyst for her as she progresses towards attaining her career goal of being a leader in FV research.
