DC-Baltimore Center to Improve Child Health Disparities

描述(申请人提供)：华盛顿特区-巴尔的摩地区的有色人种儿童是美国最弱势的儿童之一，暴力和与枪支有关的死亡率是美国最高的。华盛顿特区-巴尔的摩改善儿童健康差距中心是霍华德大学和国家儿童医学中心在约翰·霍普金斯大学和哥伦比亚特区卫生部的参与下合作的结果。它借鉴了一个健康差距的模型，认为在生物心理社会连续体中有不同的起源。它还承认少数族裔家庭在抚养和保护其子女方面的力量和复原力。该中心的使命是通过解决暴力/伤害和药物滥用问题的严格、多学科、外部资助的研究来改善儿科健康差距。此外，中心将在其工作中与社区保持合作和双向关系，既寻求他们的意见，又向他们通报中心的研究。该中心还将确定、培训和指导少数族裔调查人员，以确保合格的学术学者为儿科健康差距问题制定解决方案。该中心有六个跨学科核心：研究，以加强和扩大儿童伤害、暴力和药物滥用方面与差异有关的现有研究基础；行政，以落实霍华德大学在社区咨询委员会和外部咨询委员会的支持下的领导；共享资源，以提供研究设计/生物统计学、小区域地理差异分析和基因组技术方面的专门知识；研究培训，为霍华德大学选定的医学和博士前学生提供方案，以及在关键领域，如研究设计和生物统计学，与社区工作的沟通技能，以及文化能力方面的全中心培训；试点研究，以开展针对暴力伤害和药物滥用的新研究，以及在儿童肥胖症/二型糖尿病领域开展新研究；社区协作，以发展和促进与社区的基本双向联系，就研究优先事项征求意见，并提供以科学和研究为重点的外联和教育。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children of color in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore area are among the most disadvantaged in the nation, with the highest rates of violence and gun-related mortality in United States. The Washington D.C.-Baltimore Center to Improve Child Health Disparities was formed as a result of collaboration between Howard University and Children's National Medical Center with the participation of Johns Hopkins University and the District of Columbia Department of Health. It draws on a model of health disparities as having diverse origins across the biopsychosocial continuum. It also recognizes the strength and resiliency of minority families in raising and protecting their children. The mission of the Center is to improve pediatric health disparities through rigorous, multidisciplinary, extramurally funded research addressing the issues of violence/injury and substance abuse. In addition, the Center will have a collaborative and bi-directional relationship with the community in the conduct of its work, both seeking their input and informing them of the Center's research. The Center will also identify, train, and mentor minority investigators in order to assure qualified academic scholars to develop solutions to the problems of pediatric health disparities. The Center has six interdisciplinary cores: Research, to strengthen and extend the existing base of disparity-relevant research in pediatric injury, violence and substance abuse; Administrative, to implement leadership from Howard University supported by a Community Advisory Board and External Advisory Committee; Shared Resources, to provide expertise in study design/biostatistics, small area geo-disparity analysis, and genomic techniques; Research Training, to provide programs for selected medical and pre-doctoral students at Howard University, as well as center-wide training in key areas such as study design and biostatistics, communication skills for work with the community, and cultural competence; Pilot Studies, to field new studies directed to violent injury and substance abuse, as well as developing new research in the area of pediatric obesity/type II diabetes; Community Collaboration, to develop and facilitate the essential bi-directional linkages to the community, seek input regarding research priorities, and provide science and research-focused outreach and education.