The overall theme for the proposed competing continuation of the Arkansas Center for Health Disparities (ARCHD) is to expand research that improves access to quality prevention and healthcare programs for racial and ethnic minorities with a goal of reducing health disparities. The overall Center focuses on chronic disease disparities, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, obesity and cancer. Arkansas consistently ranks among the worst in the nation in health indicators, particularly for those key focus areas. We envision this Center as a significant resource for building both institutional and community capacity to engage In health disparities research and for engaging investigators in interdisciplinary health disparities research supported by institutional and community capacity. Particular efforts will be made to promote community-engaged translational research based on multi-directional collaborations among community partners and university investigators using local data that characterize health status and health service utilization to identify relevant research questions, establish mutually-defined research priorities, and design studies that incorporate their complementary areas of expertise. The Research Core will facilitate access to research infrastructure;encourage investigators who have successfully completed ARCHD-pilot projects to seek funding supporting the expansion of those pilots into large scale studies;motivate new investigators to initiate health disparities research;involve students participating in the ARCHD 4+1 Program in research projects to facilitate their transition to doctoral training with an emphasis on health disparities;assist the Research Education &Training Core (ETC) colleagues in ensuring that all ARCHD students and trainees receive training in research skills and responsible conduct of research;and engage community organizations representing population segments bearing a disproportionate burden of chronic illness in health disparities research. ARCHD investigators have well established collaborations with the CDC-funded Arkansas Prevention Research Center and the NIH-funded UAMS Center for Clinical and Translational Research, providing additional infrastructure and funding mechanisms with potential to further support research addressing health disparities. The narrative below addresses: (1) the logic model that informs the design of the ARCHD, including the two proposed Research Projects and all cores;(2) previous experience and expertise of investigators participating in the Research Core;(3) methods to accomplish specific aims that direct interactions between the Research Core and other ARCHD cores to support interdisciplinary research addressing health disparities; and (4) brief summaries of the two research projects proposed for funding through the ARCHD.
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