This application addresses the adverse impact of migration on chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), specifically in the area of mental illness and physical comorbidities. The overall aim of this application is to build research capacity in low- and middle-income countries concerning this major global health problem. It focuses on migration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia from two of the world's highest migrant sending countries, Kosovo and Tajikistan, both Muslim majority LMICs. The purpose of this research is to improve the abilities of policymakers, practitioners, and educators in Kosovo and Tajikistan to deal with migration- associated mental and physical illnesses for their citizens both at home and abroad. This grant supports the University of Illinois at Chicago to work with leading research institutions in Kosovo and Tajikistan to train postdoctoral researchers and build centers of expertise in NCD research that will be part of a Chicago- Prishtina-Dushanbe Network (CPDN). This research training program has three specific aims: 1) Train 10 early- to mid-career postdoctoral researchers from Kosovo and Tajikistan in multidisciplinary approaches to NCD research through training at UIC; 2) Build research capacity at 7 partner institutions by supporting 10 one-year mentored research projects and by training an estimated 250 participants per year (both live and on- line) who are either academics, educators, practitioners, policymakers, or stakeholders on pertinent research methods, issues, and infrastructure; 3) Develop and sustain a diverse network of researchers from the U.S., Kosovo, and Tajikistan dedicated to sharing knowledge and skills through convening annual meetings, trainings, and dissemination. The research training program focuses on the impact of migration upon chronic non-communicable diseases in the areas of mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse) and risks for physical comorbidities (e.g. cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and occupational diseases). The contemporary complex nature of migration, mental illness, and physical comorbidities requires multifaceted and novel approaches to NCD research training that incorporate: 1) clinical, behavioral, environmental, and social science approaches to the impact of migration; 2) lifecycle, family, epigenetic, and prevention science approaches to studying risks, resilience, and intervention opportunities; 3) services research approaches to the implementation and evaluation of care and prevention in diverse settings; and 4) international exchange of research expertise.
Migrants and their family members across the lifespan are exposed to multiple environmental, structural, sociocultural, familial, and individual risks that increase their vulnerability to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Despite the extraordinarily high and growing rates of migration globally, healthcare systems in both sending and receiving countries have not yet developed the capacities to respond to the chronic NCDs associated with migration. The proposed research training focuses on chronic NCDs across the lifespan in the areas of mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse) and physical comorbidities (e.g., cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and occupational diseases). The overall aim of this application is to build research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) concerning the major global health problem of migration-related NCDs. It focuses on migration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia from two of the world's highest migrant sending countries, Kosovo and Tajikistan. This grant supports the University of Illinois at Chicago to work with leading research institutions in Kosovo and Tajikistan to train postdoctoral researchers and build centers of expertise in NCD research that will be part of a Chicago-Prishtina-Dushanbe Network (CPDN). This research will improve the abilities of policymakers, practitioners, and educators in Kosovo and Tajikistan to deal with migration-associated mental illness and physical comorbidities for their adult and child citizens both at home and abroad. It will do so by developing a cadre of research experts and national research centers of expertise that can contribute regionally and globally to addressing the problem of chronic NCDs in migration-impacted populations.
