The social, behavioral, and health science literatures converge in their conclusion as to the health status and care of older American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). By virtually any measure, in comparison to their counterparts in the general population, Native elders are at greater risk for numerous acute as well as chronic illnesses, surfer more frequent comorbidities, have less access to high quality, needed services, and are slower to seek care leading to more serious, complicated presentations. The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center's (UCDHSC) Native Elder Research Center (NERC), 1 of 6 NIA- sponsored Resource Centers on Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), has contributed significantly to closing these gaps and to increasing the participation of Native people in related research. Accordingly, this proposal seeks renewed funding to continue our effort, the specific programmatic aims of which are to sustain and: 1) enhance the administrative structure, supported by a large, comprehensive array of relevant AI/AN programs, required to direct and coordinate a culturally relevant, scientifically meritorious effort of this nature;2) expand active partnerships with AI/AN communities that insure continuous access to and involvement of Native elders, their families, and local systems of care in the aging research process;3) expand an extensive network of collaborative links to identify, recruit, and promote a cadre of AI/AN investigators willing to commit themselves to developing their potential as scientists specializing in aging research;4) improve a carefully crafted set of mechanisms, informed by nearly 2Yz decades of experience, to equip AI/AN investigators for successful research careers at the interface of aging, health, and culture;5) enlarge an existing group of investigators to include even more diverse disciplinary expertise of an exceptionally qualified nature that can address a broad range of high-priority questions related to the aging of Native elders, and 6) promote a program of research that holds promise for reducing the differentials in health status and care which now plague this special population. The NERC/RCMAR is located within the American Indian and Alaska Native Programs (AIANP), of the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, at the UCDHSC. The AIANP houses 8 national programs, 3 of which are centrally concerned, albeit in different ways, with understanding and eliminating health disparities that plague Native elders such as those highlighted above. The USDHSC is joined by the University of Washington, capitalizing on the latter's impressive array of aging-related resources.
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