Assessing Cardiovascular Risks in Deaf Adolescents who use Sign Language

描述(申请人提供)：斯科特·R·史密斯，医学博士，公共卫生硕士，聋儿医生，精通英语和美国手语(ASL)。他的职业生涯一直专注于特殊人群的医疗保健，这些人群往往得不到足够的服务，包括使用手语的聋哑儿童和青少年。史密斯博士的职业目标是成为一名领先的专家和独立研究员，在聋人青少年的心血管健康知识和识字方面进行突破性研究。罗切斯特大学为史密斯博士提供了一个理想的环境来实现他的目标，罗切斯特拥有大量的聋儿和聋人，罗切斯特大学医学中心被激励成为聋人健康促进和疾病预防的卓越中心。史密斯博士将进行更高级的研究培训，包括正式的课程作业、指导的个性化课程、咨询支持、导师咨询委员会会议、实地考察和全国会议，以发展必要的研究技能和社区合作，以实现他的目标和目的。此外，由于使用ASL的聋人似乎面临包括肥胖在内的特定心血管风险的更高风险，Smith博士将与他的导师、顾问和顾问合作开展一个研究项目，以进一步发展他的研究技能，并产生有关ASL聋人青少年关键心血管健康知识和识字技能的新的有价值的信息。他们将根据焦点小组和对聋人青少年的认知访谈的结果，开发一种新的书面英语测量和调查，调查与饮食、运动和个人家族心血管病史有关的具体心血管健康知识和素养，从而实现这一点。然后，他们将把这份书面英语调查改编成基于计算机的英语视听调查和基于计算机的ASL视频调查，并对聋人和听力青少年进行这些调查，以评估他们特定的心血管健康知识和识字能力。史密斯博士将与聋人和医疗保健社区分享这些数据，以计划未来的研究和干预措施，以解决聋人ASL社区的心血管健康差距。 公共卫生相关性：这项拟议的导师职业发展奖的总体目标是让斯科特·史密斯成为一名独立的内科科学家，他的职业生涯侧重于心血管健康知识和使用手语的聋人青少年的识字。拟议的指导性研究项目的目的是评估主要通过美国手语(ASL)交流的聋人青少年的特定心血管健康知识和识字技能，方法是开发一种新的测量和调查，重点是饮食、锻炼和个人家族史方面的关键心血管健康知识和识字技能。我们将把这一新措施的重点放在获取尚未在文献中衡量的健康素养方面，这将导致更有效的干预措施，以解决和减少通过手语交流的聋人社区严重的心血管健康差距。(摘要结束)

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Scott R. Smith, MD, MPH is a deaf pediatrician who is bilingual in English and American Sign Language (ASL). His career has focused on health care in special and often underserved populations including deaf children and adolescents who use sign language. Dr. Smith's career objective is to become a leading expert and independent researcher to conduct breakthrough research in cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy in deaf adolescents. The University of Rochester provides Dr. Smith with an ideal environment to work towards his objective with Rochester having a large population of deaf children and people and the University of Rochester Medical Center being motivated to become a center of excellence on health promotion and disease prevention with people who are deaf. Dr. Smith will pursue more advanced research training including formal coursework, mentored individualized curricula, consultative supports, mentorial advisory committee meetings, field trips, and national conferences to develop the necessary research skills and community collaborations to achieve his goals and objectives. Furthermore, because deaf people who use ASL appear to be at a higher risk for specific cardiovascular risks including obesity, Dr. Smith will work with his mentors, consultants, and advisors to conduct a research project to further his research skills development and to generate new and valuable information about critical cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy skills of deaf ASL adolescents. They will accomplish this by developing a new written English measure and survey of specific cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy related to diet, exercise, and personal family cardiovascular history based on findings from focus groups and cognitive interviews of deaf adolescents. They will then adapt this written English survey into computer- based English audio and visual and computer-based ASL video surveys and administer these surveys to cohorts of deaf and hearing adolescents to evaluate their specific cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy. Dr. Smith will share the data with the deaf and health care communities to plan future research and interventions to address the cardiovascular health disparities of the deaf ASL community. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The overarching aim of this proposed Mentored Career Development Award is for Scott Smith, MD, MPH to become an independent physician-scientist with a career focused on cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy in deaf adolescents who use sign language. The aim of the proposed mentored research project is to assess specific cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy skills in deaf adolescents who primarily communicate through American Sign Language (ASL) by developing a new measure and survey of critical cardiovascular health knowledge and literacy skills focused on diet, exercise, and personal family history. We will focus this new measure to capture aspects of health literacy not yet measured in literature, which will lead to more effective interventions to address and reduce the critical cardiovascular health disparities in the community of deaf people who communicate through sign language. (End of Abstract)