Interventions for Preventing and Managing Chronic Illness

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The purpose of this training grant is to prepare nurse scientists with the substantive and methodological capacity to apply community-engaged intervention mapping (IM; integrating community-engaged research approaches/CEnR with IM) as they design, test and implement multilevel theory-based interventions to prevent and manage chronic illness in vulnerable populations. The T32 has matured over the last 25 years of funding; the focus has expanded to address emergent scientific priorities in research on theory-based interventions for preventing and managing chronic illness, and to reflect the strength and diversity of our faculty research. In this application, we continue to address the scientific priorities of focusing on vulnerable populations and speeding translation of interventions from research into clinical practice. We will enhance the ongoing T32 by providing training in using community-engaged IM to design multilevel, theory-based interventions and effectively engage stakeholders throughout the process. We posit that using community-engaged IM to design, test, and implement theory-based multilevel interventions will speed translation into clinical practice. Our continued focus on theory-based interventions will be enhanced by a new focus on multilevel interventions that use behavior change and environment focused theories, and training in using IM and CEnR approaches to effectively engage members of the target population, clinicians, communities, and other types of other stakeholders in the research. For predoctoral trainees, enhancements to the PhD program will include: (a) required courses structured to address IM core processes, traditional and contemporary CEnR approaches, and 6 iterative steps; (b) mentored research experiences; and (c) participation in integrative and scientific seminar series focused on developing competencies needed to build productive programs of research that involve designing, testing and implementing multilevel theory-based interventions. For postdoctoral trainees, the training program will include: (a) the required courses, (b) independent research experiences, and (c) active involvement in both seminar series. Six pre-doctoral trainees and three post-doctoral trainees will be supported each year over the 5 years of the training program. The emphases will capitalize on our faculty strengths, strong research infrastructure, and well-established research partnerships on The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus and throughout the rural and increasingly diverse state of North Carolina.