THE UT-PAN AMERICAN & LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY PARTNERSH*

描述（由申请人提供）：本文提出的该项目的总体目标是为德克萨斯大学泛美分校（UTPA）的研究人员提供与南德克萨斯州格兰德河谷（LRGV）地区的学校社区、社区组织（CBO）和初级保健从业人员建立伙伴关系的能力，以发展和开展儿童、青少年和成人肥胖的转化研究。由于肥胖、糖尿病、心血管疾病、癌症和传染病等慢性疾病的高流行率，在拉丁美洲和加勒比地区尤其需要解决与健康差异有关的疾病。拟议的项目将为UTPA的研究人员提供一个及时的机会，与他们所服务的社区建立伙伴关系，共同寻找解决LRGV肥胖流行的办法。在制定肥胖长期研究议程的一开始，就有机会让社区参与进来，这是一种合理的方法，将为UTPA的研究人员提供对要调查的问题的清晰理解。拟建项目的具体目标如下：在UTPA和LRGV学校营养师、学校健康教育教师、学校护士、社区组织和初级保健从业人员之间建立伙伴关系，就儿童、青少年和成人肥胖问题举办与健康差异有关的讲习班。2. 确定LRGV社区在儿童、青少年和成人肥胖方面的需求和研究重点。3. 在确定的肥胖问题和UTPA的研究重点之间形成一致。4. 制定一项研究议程，用于NIH计划的第二阶段，以准备研究重点为儿童、青少年和成人肥胖的资助申请。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of the project proposed herein is to provide researchers at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) the ability to form partnerships with school communities, Community Based Organizations (CBO) and primary healthcare practitioners in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) region of South Texas for the purpose of developing and conducting translational research on childhood, adolescent and adult obesity. The need for solutions to health disparities-related diseases is especially great in the LRGV region due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer and infectious diseases. The proposed project will provide a timely opportunity for UTPA researchers to formulate partnerships with the community it serves, to work together in finding solutions to obesity prevalence in the LRGV. The opportunity to involve the community at the very onset of developing a long-term research agenda on obesity is a sound approach that will provide UTPA researchers with a clear understanding of the questions to be investigated. The specific objectives of the proposed project are as follows: 1. To establish partnerships between UTPA and LRGV school dietitians, school health education teachers, school nurses, community based organizations and primary care practitioners for the purpose of conducting health disparities-related workshops on childhood, adolescent and adult obesity. 2. To identify the LRGV community's need and research priorities on childhood, adolescent and adult obesity. 3. To form an alignment between the identified obesity problems and UTPA's research priorities. 4. To develop a research agenda to be utilized in phase II of this NIH initiative in preparing grant applications with research emphasis on childhood, adolescent and adult obesity.