The East Texas Project EXPORT Center

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The extensions in life expectancy that have attenuated diabetics over the last few decades have been asymmetric. While diabetic persons by all races/ethnicities and socioeconomic groups have experienced fewer inter-current illnesses, lower rates of lactic acidosis due to shock and renal failure, and fewer other complications of their disease, disparities in the prevalence and progress of diabetes mellitus, have, nevertheless, occurred. Moreover, such patterns are observable in East Texas. Due in part to differences in access to treatment, patient-based variables also explain in part, the currently confirmed disparities regarding diabetes, and its related diseases, hypertension and obesity. In this regard, Texas College, a Historically Black College/University, located in Tyler, Texas and its partner, the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler (UTHCT), propose to implement the East Texas Project EXPORT Center through the use of R24 funding. This highly specialized Center will partner with UTHCT faculty, staff and Texas College students in conducting health disparities research regarding the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and self-management of diabetes and its related diseases, hypertension and obesity. The Center will utilize a mobile unit, the Hometown Education Van, to conduct outreach and engage in the dissemination of prevention and treatment information. Initially, this innovative Center will target Smith County residents with the goal of reaching other counties in East Texas in order to increase the incidence of self-management treatment for diabetes in health disparity populations living in East Texas.