Although we urgently need innovative approaches to eliminating health disparities, careful attention must be paid to intervention development, study design and evaluation methodology. As the Research Core worked with each CHEIR component to develop this proposal, the methodological complexity of real-world research to eliminate disparities came ever more clearly into focus. The randomized trial is often not feasible and may not represent the settings in which vulnerable patients live, work, and receive health care. The best intervention and evaluation plans are created by a dynamic interplay of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Our Specific Aims are to: (1) Advance the science of health disparity intervention by supporting each research project and core to develop theory-based disparity interventions, such as storytelling, that are culturally responsive, literacy sensitive, and linguistically appropriate; (2) Advance the science of health disparity intervention evaluation by supporting each research project and core with expertise in study design, statistical analysis, qualitative approaches, and data management; (3) Equip the next generation of disparity researchers to apply advanced quantitative and qualitative techniques, working in collaboration with the Research Training/Education Core and the Community Engagement Core; and (4) Identify and nurture nascent ideas for health disparity intervention research with high potential for extramural funding, with an emphasis on assisting students and junior faculty form under-represented groups. We will provide consultation on a prioritized basis and establish aJust-in-Time conference. CHEIR reflects the combined talent of our ethnically diverse, experienced, and inter-disciplinary research team devoted to working with under-served populations. The Research Core has seamlessly woven methodological innovation, biostatistical support, and education throughout CHEIR. We will leverage existing resources including our NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award and the CDC-funded Worcester County Prevention Research Center, and the Quantitative Methods Core housed within the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences.
Persons who are vulnerable because of race, ethnicity, language, or socioeconomic status carry a heavy burden of preventable disease. The Research Core offers methodological support, innovation, and education as CHEIR pursues novel intervetnions to address these health disparities and develops the next generation of disparity resreachers, espeically among those from under-served backgrounds.
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