The UCLA Center for Research, Education, Training, and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities (CRETSCMHD) will be guided by the sole priority of ensuring the reduction and elimination of health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations. The UCLA Center's agenda is structured such that integrated through each of its Cores are three themes vital to effectively eliminate disparities in health: research, education and training, and communication and dissemination. Activities at the Center will be coordinated through the Administrative Core, Research Cores (made up of the Shared Resources, Research Cores and a Pilot Module), and the Education, Training, and Public Policy Cores (made up of the Minority Health and Health Disparity Education, Training, and Community Outreach and Information Dissemination Cores). The Administrative Core will provide the organizational leadership, coordination and review of all Core activities, and encourage inter-relationships and partnerships within the University and with the broader Los Angeles community. The Shared Resources Cores, composed of the Qualitative, Quantitative, and Communities-In-Context Cores, will function as the research backbone for the Center. It is also here that the theoretical, methodological, and contextual approaches to studying minority health will be revisited and refined. The Pilot Module and Research Core, working in collaboration with the Shared Resources Core, will examine the role of provider behavior as well as the use of traditional medicine in minority health. The Training and Minority Health Education Cores will work to increase the presence and involvement of racial/ethnic minority students and faculty in research focused on eliminating minority health disparities from a wide range of campus units such as the life/physical sciences to World Arts and Culture through education, mentorship, and research opportunities at the Center. The Community Core will serve as the backbone for the entire Center, informing the research and direction of the Center, undertaking the examination of the dissemination process through studying the importance of language in the education, dissemination and health care encounters. Part of the Community Core aims will be achieved through Center-organized events, where community leaders as well as Center members will engage in discussion of community needs. CRETSCMHD will be composed of a diverse group of faculty, community leaders, the minority media, local foundations and health professionals. It is with the intention of creating a forum for multiple perspectives that the Center has drawn members from disparate disciplines and organizations. The Center's agenda is a collective and comprehensive effort in the reduction and elimination of minority health disparities in the context of a community rich in ethnic/racial diversity. However this same community is the site of a large number of those racial/ethnic minorities being without access to care and who bear an unfair share of the burden of health inequalities.
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