P50MD017319

The Center for Research, Health, and Social Justice - Project Summary

Overall, Arkansas, located in the southern region of the United States, ranks among the lowest in the nation in overall health outcomes and in cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Within Arkansas, place- and race-based disparities are quite profound, and rural residents and Blacks/African Americans fare the worst.

Forty-one percent of Arkansans live in rural areas where socioeconomic distress, chronic disease risk factors, and social structural factors underlying these disparities have not changed in decades. Poverty and food insecurity are higher, and wages, employment opportunities, and health care access are lower in rural than in urban Arkansas.

Blacks/African Americans have the highest cancer and CVD mortality rates, the worst socioeconomic indicators, and have experienced enormous historic trauma, particularly in the Delta regions.

To address this historical embedment of place- and race-based health inequities in Arkansas, the proposed Center for Research, Health, and Social Justice (CRHS) will use a social justice framework to inform the development and implementation of a robust process for advancing novel multilevel and transdisciplinary research, engaging communities in equitable partnerships to address the root causes of chronic disease disparities, and building, training, and mentoring a diverse and competent research workforce prepared to eliminate disparities in cancer and CVD.

Our social justice framework will help the CRHS identify interconnected patterns of systematic disadvantage in the community and in our research ecosystem to inform how the cores, research projects, advisory boards, and our broad-based coalition of academic and community partners can work synergistically to accomplish CRHS goals.

Our coalition of stakeholders includes partners in the Northwest, Highlands, and Delta regions of Arkansas and multiple institutional partners integrated into the cores and research projects who will employ common measures, tools, methods, and approaches to accomplish the CRHS goals.

The CRHS will work with the NIMHD Chronic Disease Disparities Coordinating Center to leverage and share resources, engage in cutting-edge cross-center research, and increase networking and research opportunities for new investigators.

The CRHS will leverage multiple federally-funded resources including the Clinical Translational Science Award Program, the National Research Mentoring Network, federally funded center grants, and federal surveys to help facilitate research, training, mentoring, dissemination, and translation of research to inform public practice and policy.

CRHS builds on our prior successes and will create a robust research ecosystem that serves as a national model for eliminating chronic disease disparities by using a social justice framework for research, training, and community engagement.

University Of Arkansas For Medical Sciences

TO SUPPORT BASIC, CLINICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, PROMOTE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAINING, FOSTER EMERGING PROGRAMS, DISSEMINATE INFORMATION, AND REACH OUT TO MINORITY AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITY COMMUNITIES. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES (NIMHD) HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS: (1) THE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE PROGRAM PROMOTES RESEARCH TO IMPROVE MINORITY HEALTH AND/OR REDUCE AND ELIMINATE HEALTH DISPARITIES, BUILDS RESEARCH CAPACITY FOR MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF HEALTH DISPARITY GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES IN BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES, AND BRINGS TOGETHER INVESTIGATORS FROM RELEVANT DISCIPLINES IN A MANNER THAT WILL ENHANCE AND EXTEND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR RESEARCH, (2) NIMHD RESEARCH ENDOWMENT PROGRAM BUILDS RESEARCH CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE AT ELIGIBLE NIMHD CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE OR ELIGIBLE SECTION 736 HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOOLS (42 U.S.C. 293) TO FACILITATE MINORITY HEALTH AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH TO CLOSE THE DISPARITY GAP IN THE BURDEN OF ILLNESS AND DEATH EXPERIENCED BY RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY AMERICANS AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITY POPULATIONS, PROMOTES A DIVERSE AND STRONG SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE, AND EMPHASIZES THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES AND OTHER SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS IN THE FIELDS OF BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND OTHER AREAS OF THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE, (3) THE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH TO STIMULATE BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES, (4) MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM (MHIRT) AWARDS ENABLE U.S. INSTITUTIONS TO TAILOR SHORT-TERM BASIC SCIENCE, BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL MENTORED STUDENT INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS GLOBAL ISSUES RELATED TO UNDERSTANDING, REDUCING, AND ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES, (5) SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM INCREASES PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, ENCOURAGES SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTERS AND ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (6) SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, FOSTERS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, INCREASES PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTERS AND ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (7) HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS (RPG) SUPPORT INNOVATIVE PROJECTS TO ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS, SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND HEALTH SERVICES THAT CAN DIRECTLY AND DEMONSTRABLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN MINORITY HEALTH AND THE ELIMINATION OF HEALTH DISPARITIES WHICH INCLUDES THE (8) RESEARCH CENTERS IN MINORITY INSTITUTIONS (RCMI) BUILD CAPACITY FOR BASIC BIOMEDICAL AND/OR BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH (RCTR) AND A NETWORK (RCTN) BY FOCUSING ON INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS SUPPORTING CORE RESEARCH FACILITIES AND STAFF, PURCHASING ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION, AND LABORATORY RENOVATIONS/ALTERATIONS (9) CLINICAL RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT (CRECD) AWARDS PROVIDE DIDACTIC TRAINING AND MENTORED CLINICAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS WHO CAN LEAD CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE ADDRESSING HEALTH DISPARITIES, (10) PATHWAY TO INDEPENDENCE AWARDS (K99/R00) TO INCREASE AND MAINTAIN A STRONG COHORT OF NEW AND TALENTED, NIH-SUPPORTED, INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS. (11) NIH RESEARCH CONFERENCE GRANT AND NIH RESEARCH CONFERENCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROGRAMS SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CONFERENCES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, (12) TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE CENTERS FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH COMPRISE REGIONAL COALITIONS OF ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SYSTEMS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS CONDUCTING COORDINATED RESEARCH, IMPLEMENTATION AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES THAT TRANSCEND CUSTOMARY APPROACHES AND SILO ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES TO ADDRESS CRITICAL QUESTIONS AT MULTIPLE LEVELS IN INNOVATIVE WAYS FOCUSED ON PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS IN MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, (13) RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NRSA INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

93.307 - Minority Health and Health Disparities Research

National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) [HHS - NIH]

Little Rock, Arkansas 722057101 United States

Single Zip Code

Centers for Multiple Chronic Diseases Associated with Health Disparities: Prevention, Treatment, and Management (P50 Clinical Trial Required) (RFA-MD-21-007)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 468% from $3,864,520 to $21,943,481.