The Program for Rural and Minority Health Disparities Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite considerable progress over the past 30 years in improving the health of the U.S. population, there continue to be substantial disparities in health status among many minority and underserved populations. Previous research has examined the impact of setting on health disparities or the impact of race/ethnicity on health disparities; the proposed program capitalizes on the complementary research expertise of two nationally recognized research centers to look at the interaction of setting and population factors. This Program for Rural and Minority Health Disparities Research will address rural and minority health issues by: (i) providing critical information on how population and setting characteristics (contextual factors) impact food choice, dietary patterns, and the risk of obesity in minority and rural populations, including children; (2) developing interventions to reduce the risk of obesity, particularly among rural, minority, and underserved individuals; (3) testing the differential effectiveness of diabetes self-management models in rural, urban and minority populations; (4) strengthening the ability of Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M Health Science Center, and the Texas A&M System to support disparities research and the recruitment and training of faculty committed to disparities research; and (5) developing a health disparities institute at the system level that will serve the 9 universities and 6 state agencies of the Texas A&M System. The system-level health disparities institute will strengthen collaboration among disparities researchers at multiple campuses, support training of faculty and students in disparities issues, and support the recruitment and training of students and new faculty in health disparities. Jointly sponsored by the Texas A&M University Center for the Study of Health Disparities and the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health Center for Community Health Development, this Program will support 3 core research projects around the Program focus of obesity prevention and chronic disease self-management; the development of a network of disparities researchers; and the training of students-graduate and undergraduate-and faculty in disparities issues and research methods. The Program will also facilitate continued outreach and collaboration with multiple community partners in the Brazos Valley and surrounding counties to reduce health disparities; and strengthened collaboration among Faculty of Texas A&M University and the Health Science Center in addressing health disparities.