The University of South Alabama, Center for Healthy Communities (CHC), NIMHD Center of Excellence (COE) seeks to eliminate health disparities in its region via broad based collaborations with community partners, university investigators and policy makers. We seek renewed funding for our COE. We will focus on African American health and health disparities and have proposed activities that have grown from our current funding. We propose four cores: administrative, research, research training / education mentoring, and community engagement. The Research Core will include three investigator initiated hypothesis driven projects that are of significant relevance to the health and health disparities of African Americans. These projects will have novel linkages with the other two cores. We will continue a unique Research Apprenticeship model where Community Health Advocates (CHAs) from the Community Engagement/Outreach Core will be part of the research team. We will continue efforts with our Health Disparities Research Group (HDRG), a multidisciplinary faculty research team with a focus on CBPR. The Community Engagement/Outreach Core will disseminate health information via a Community Health Advocate (CHA) program. CHAs determine the priority areas and will have opportunities to be trained in health disparities and their elimination. A novel professional track will be available t enhance job skills of CHAs. The Community Engagement/Outreach Core will also have pipeline programs for students in grades 3 -12 to enhance the ability of students from health disparate groups to enter health care and health care research fields. These students will be youth CHAs and will partner with adult CHAs in an intergenerational model. The Research Training/ Education Core will provide biomedical research opportunities to graduates of our pipeline programs who have completed their freshman year of college. This experience will be used as a bridge to other pre-health career pipeline programs. All cores will have significant interaction and will determine their direction based on blueprints derived with input from the community of our designated service area. We believe this approach will be effective and will improve the health of our constituents
African Americans suffer from a multitude of health disparities, and these disparities result in higher rates of death and disability. These health disparities occur because of genetic, biologic, socio-cultural, and financial issues. Therefore, a broad based approach based on a true collaboration with the targeted community is essential
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