NM CARES Health Disparities Center:

Environmental Health Core

Overview of the Main Environmental Health Aims

Goal: To establish a research focus in the science of intervention on EH disparities based at UNM based on sound research practices, informed by community needs, and focused on filling information gaps to inform policy and clinical care.

 

Framework for addressing environmental health disparities in NM.

Aims of the Environmental Health (EH) Core:

Aim 1: Expand existing relationships between communities, researchers, health practitioners and policy makers to identify and address gaps in our understanding of EH disparities, and to inform intervention science research at UNM.

Aim 2.  Initiate two new community partnership-based research projects, focused on interventions to reduce EH disparities


Project 1:  Fiestas: Improving food security in an urban Hispanic community
Project 2:  Zinc reversal of uranium toxicity: potential for community-based intervention.

 

Aim 3: Mentoring minority trainees to develop and expand EH disparities research. In all core activities, as well as in research projects associated with the core, we will mentor and involve community EH scholars, and trainees representing our partner communities.

Approach:

We will meet the goals of Aim 1 by:

    1. Strengthen and expand on existing relationships with all constituents to develop sustainable research and intervention partnerships to reduce EH disparities.
    2. Collaborate with the Research Education and Training, Community Engagement and Research Cores to create unique training programs for constituents including clinicians, researchers and communities, to develop multi-directional communication AND research capacity in EH disparities.
    3. Evaluation

 

Challenges:
Obtain funding to sustain the Core beyond initial two-year funding cycle. Narrowing the range of EH disparities topic areas and the risk of diffused efforts. 

  1. Initially, cast a broad net in increasing awareness of the problem and types of EH disparities. 
  2. Identify the areas of highest priority and offer the greatest potential for intervention research. 
  3. Narrow focus as needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Funding provided by NIH/NIMHD grant number 3 P20 MD004811-02SI.