The Deep South RCMAR will serve as research-based and mentoring investment in the process of closing the health disparities gap between African American and non-minority older adults. In addition, the Deep South RCMAR will increase the number of researchers with the capacity to conduct independent, peer-reviewed research related to minority aging and health disparities. The RCMAR will focus on health problems that are particularly prevalent among older African Americans, and will give special attention to issues related to rural elders;intervention research addressing exercise, diet, or preventive health strategies;and studies addressing socio-economic, discrimination, trust, and bioethical issues impacting both measures of both physical and mental health. The Deep South RCMAR will create research infrastructure for the following objectives: (1) establish a mechanism for mentoring research careers;(2) enhance cultural diversity of the professional workforce conducting research on the health of older persons;(3) conduct research on and disseminate strategies for recruiting and retaining African American older adults in research;(4) facilitate innovative strategies to support enduring research careers in minority health, and/or encourage the recruitment of established researchers to undertake research on minority aging health;(5) improve the research methods and tools necessary to conduct rigorous and comparable research on diverse populations;(6) advance scientific knowledge leading to a decrease in health disparities;and (7) disseminate to scientific and non-scientific communities research results addressing the resolution of health disparities through the improvement of minority health, particularly for older African Americans. The Deep South RCMAR will be composed of three interacting and collaborative cores (administration, investigator development, and community liaison) created by and built upon the unique strengths of four partnering institutions (Morehouse School of Medicine, Tuskegee University, University of Alabama, and University of Alabama at Birmingham). The cores will provide an infrastructure to provide training and mentoring programs, fund three pilot projects per year, and nurture community relations needed to meet the stated objectives. The Deep South RCMAR will ultimately become not only a regional, but also a national resource for expertise related to the mechanisms of health disparities between older African Americans and whites.
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