In 2004, the combined """"""""minority"""""""" populations of Texas surpassed the non-Hispanic white population. By the year 2026, the Hispanic population is projected to become the majority population in Texas. Published reports on health disparities in Texas have shown striking disparities in the health status, access to health care and risk factors between the racial and ethnic minorities and the general population in Texas. The racial and ethnic minority populations have a higher mortality rate from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, HIV and tobacco-related diseases. To combat this problem, the University of North Texas Health Science Center will establish the Texas Center for Minority Health, Education, Research and Outreach"""""""" (Texas EXPORT Center) to coordinate the research, education and community outreach activities. Our vision for the Texas EXPORT Center is to augment and strengthen our infrastructure and capacity to conduct basic, clinical and behavioral research aimed at eliminating health disparities that exist in the racial and ethnic minorities in Texas, as well as to develop collaborative research, education and community outreach activities with our partner underrepresented minority (URM) institutions. We will identify our institutional and community partners for the Texas EXPORT Center activities, support development of health disparity research projects, develop a pipeline for URM student participation in research and establish our community outreach programs. The objectives of this application are: 1) Foster existing relationships and develop new relationships with URM institutions as partners for our EXPORT center;2) Conduct research on health disparity areas that exist in Texas minorities such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, stroke and HIV;3) Provide unique opportunities for minority students and faculty from URM institutions in health disparity research;4) Promote education of students in health professions, health care practitioners and policy makers on the existence of health disparities and the need to combat the problem;and 5) Serve as a resource for the minority communities to disseminate health information, promote community participation in health education and research, and to implement disease prevention activities. The expected outcome will be enabling research aimed at eliminating health disparities, mentor minority students and faculty to become health professionals and outreaching to the minority communities to facilitate understanding and elimination of health disparities.
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