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Nursing School Initiative Dedicated to Health Disparities Research Gets $7.6 Million NIH Renewal Grant


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    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year $7.6 million grant to the University of Miami’s School of Nursing and Health Studies for its Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research: El Centro.

    “This award recognizes the accomplishments of this vital project known as El Centro during our first five years and will allow us to continue to build a program that serves our University, community, and society in advancing the science of eliminating health disparities,” said Nilda (Nena) Peragallo, professor and dean of the nursing school.

    The El Centro renewal grant funds two randomized trials that will test evidence-based interventions in real-world community settings. With the renewal of funding, El Centro will continue to research the intervention and prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as violence. The SEPA (Salud, Educacion, Prevencion y Autocuidado or Health, Education, Prevention and Self-Care) study is specifically designed for Hispanic women, with an awareness and sensitivity to traditional gender roles that influence how women relate to sexual partners and their comfort level in discussing sexual topics.

    “The renewed funding for El Centro provides the Miami-Dade County Health Department with additional opportunities to collaborate in this important endeavor,” said Lillian Rivera, administrator, Miami-Dade County Health Department. “The interventions being tested and adapted at El Centro are crucial to the improvement of  health outcomes of minority groups in our community.”

    Additionally, the Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET) Recovery study will adapt and test a family intervention to prevent relapse in mothers who have recently completed substance abuse treatment, with the goal of improving the health of the mothers and their children. Results have already shown an improvement in the health of HIV-positive mothers in substance abuse recovery and their children. The new study will test SET in partnership with Banyan Health Systems as part of their substance abuse aftercare program.

    El Centro was established through NIH funding in September 2007, and this renewal grant ensures that the research continues through 2017. El Centro develops culturally tailored prevention and treatment interventions for a variety of health conditions that disproportionately affect minority groups: HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, and associated mental and physical health conditions. Although originally established to focus on Hispanics, El Centro has recently expanded to other groups also affected by these health disparities, including blacks (African-Americans and Caribbean-Americans) and other minorities. El Centro also collaborates with institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to address health disparities in those countries.

    In addition to the two studies, the grant provides funding for three cores to facilitate research, training, and community-academic alliances led by: Peragallo, director, administration; Victoria Mitrani, director, research; Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda and Guerda Nicolas, co-directors, Research Education and Training Core; and Daniel Santisteban, director, Community Engagement, Dissemination and Implementation Core. The core directors and representatives from the two partnering community agencies serve as El Centro’s Steering Committee. An interdisciplinary and dedicated group of distinguished scientists from UM and other institutions serve as El Centro’s Scientific Advisory Board.

     

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