Howard University aims to be a major participant in the cooperative agreement with NIH to plan and to conduct research which addresses the problem of the unacceptably high infant mortality rate among minority Populations in the country and most specifically in the District of Columbia. It intends, through the interdisciplinary collaboration of Howard researchers, along with community linkages, to respond to questions of access to prenatal care, outreach strategies, health education and health promotion, psychosocial interventions, and the significance of various models of prenatal care on pregnancy outcomes. Howard's long term objectives are (1) to help shape the direction of the variety of research studies to be conducted under cooperative agreement through contributing its unique sensitivity, understanding, and expertise regarding minority health problems and (2) to design and implement a major research project which will contribute to and bring resolution to some of the factors contributing to the high infant mortality rate in the District. Specifically, Howard aims to (1) assist in the direction of infant mortality research in the District by participating on the NIH Steering Committee (2) to negotiate for a cooperative agreement for Howard which best captures the University's unique capability and interest; (3) to collaborate with the University's interdisciplinary researchers, relevant cooperating community agencies, and members of the NIH Steering Committee to design the protocols for research; (4) to implement the research protocols; (5) to analyze data to make relevant inferences; and (6) to contribute to the scholarly literature. Most importantly, Howard intends to benefit from research findings putting into practice demonstrated effective interventions which reduce the unacceptable high infant mortality rate of the District of Columbia.
