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, and Community Engagement/Outreach. The Research Training / Education Core, directed by Errol Crook, MD will run an undergraduate research program for students from health disparate groups. This program will serve to fill an important gap between the pipeline programs of our Community Engagement Core and other pre-health pipeline programs. We select up to 5 graduates of our pipeline programs to perform biomedical research during the summer after their freshman year of college. These students will be African American and from our designated service area. Many will be first time college attendees. Mentors will be investigators in the COE or other investigators in the University's Health Science Division. Students will be placed in research programs according to their stated areas of interest, their abilities, and the availability of dedicated mentors. The experiences of the students will be monitored by the COE during the summer and an end of summer evaluation of the experience will be completed by each student and mentor. Students will take part in a research methods and ethics series and will be advised on career options and future opportunities for unique programs.

Public Health Relevance

African Americans suffer from a multitude of health disparities, and these disparities result in higher rates of death and disability. To adequately address these significant disparities there needs to be health care providers and researchers from this health disparate group. This core's activities are designed to facilitate the development of African American health disparities researchers and/ or health care providers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Type
Exploratory Grants (P20)
Project #
5P20MD002314-08
Application #
8609510
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMD1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2014-02-01
Budget End
2015-01-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of South Alabama
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Mobile
State
AL
Country
United States
Zip Code
36688
Arrieta, Martha I; Wells, Naima K; Parker, L Lynette et al. (2018) Research Apprenticeship and Its Potential as a Distinct Model of Peer Research Practice. Prog Community Health Partnersh 12:199-214
Fruh, Sharon M; Mulekar, Madhuri S; Crook, Errol et al. (2018) The Family Meal Challenge: A Faith-Based Intervention to Empower Families. J Christ Nurs 35:191-197
Arrieta, Martha I; Fisher, Leevones; Shaw, Thomas et al. (2017) Consolidating the Academic End of a Community-Based Participatory Research Venture to Address Health Disparities. J High Educ Outreach Engagem 21:113-134
Icenogle, Marjorie; Eastburn, Sasha; Arrieta, Martha (2016) Katrina's Legacy: Processes for Patient Disaster Preparation Have Improved but Important Gaps Remain. Am J Med Sci 352:455-465
Bryan, Valerie; Brye, Willette; Hudson, Kenneth et al. (2014) Investigating health disparities through community-based participatory research: lessons learned from a process evaluation. Soc Work Public Health 29:318-34
Tan, Fang; Mosunjac, Marina; Adams, Amy L et al. (2014) Enhanced down-regulation of ALCAM/CD166 in African-American Breast Cancer. BMC Cancer 14:715
Shaw, Thomas C (2014) Uncovering health literacy: Developing a remotely administered questionnaire for determining health literacy levels in health disparate populations. J Hosp Adm 3:140-156
Fruh, Sharon M; Mulekar, Madhuri S; Hall, Heather R et al. (2013) Meal-Planning Practices with Individuals in Health Disparity Zip Codes. J Nurse Pract 9:344-349
Freed, Christopher R; Hansberry, Shantisha T; Arrieta, Martha I (2013) STRUCTURAL AND HIDDEN BARRIERS TO A LOCAL PRIMARY HEALTH CARE INFRASTRUCTURE: AUTONOMY, DECISIONS ABOUT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, AND THE CENTRALITY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF POWER. Res Sociol Health Care 31:57-81
Fruh, Sharon M; Mulekar, Madhuri S; Hall, Heather R et al. (2013) Perspectives of Community Health Advocates: Barriers to Healthy Family Eating Patterns. J Nurse Pract 9:416-421

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