Health Disparities Research Workgroup and Community Advisory Board

Health Disparities Research Workgroup &

Community Advisory Board

History of the Health Disparities Reseach Workgroup: The SON initiated the Health Disparities Research Workgroup in February 2003 to build bridges between the Medical College of Georgia and the community through collaboration and cooperation with multidisciplinary alliances within the field of health disparities research. The purpose of HDRW is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge that contributes to the reduction and elimination of health care disparities in the Southeastern United States. This research interest group meets, on average, monthly, and now has 22-25 active faculty members representing nursing, allied health, health information management, library services, medicine, and dentistry.

Community Advisory Board: The Community Advisory Board (CAB) was established to foster relationships among Medical College of Georgia researchers and the community for the purpose of promoting mutual understanding and cooperation in working toward improved research and improved health for community members. The CAB consists of approximately 25 formal and informal leaders who represent the ethnic minority and vulnerable populations in our local community.

Philosophy: As articulated by the World Health Organization in 1978, we understand health as a “state of enough physical, mental, and social-well-being to enable people to work productively and participate actively in the social and economic life of the community in which they live”.

Background: The HDRW was established to address healthcare disparities with specific areas of focus. In alignment with the Medical College of Georgia’s five-year strategic plan for research on the organization and quality of healthcare for patients and families and Healthy People 2010, we have included seven priority areas. These include cardiovascular health, neurological health, cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes/obesity, health promotion/disease prevention, health services research (to include quality of healthcare, access, resources)

Strategies to eliminate health related disparities including biological, social, and environmental determinants have been inadequately studied. The mission of the HDRW is to conduct research that addresses these determinants.

Goals:

1. Increase the knowledge base by which disparities are documented and understood through communication between those with resources, knowledge and skills and those who struggle each day to maintain their health and that of their families.

2. Improve outcomes of interventions and services through research between holistic health needs and confusing fragmented subspecialty care.

3. Enhance public information outreach and dissemination between the community health representatives and healthcare policy makers to develop appropriate research, education, and delivery programs

Objectives

1. Adopt the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating (not just reducing) health disparities by the year 2010; in addition, incorporate Medical College of Georgia’s goals/plans to eliminate health disparities.

2. Form collaborative and interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students from all Schools at MCG to develop extramurally funded research programs in health disparities.

3. Design research to identify the biological, social, and environmental determinants of health related disparities; and address strategies to reduce and eliminate health disparities among vulnerable populations in Southeastern United States.

4. Advance community outreach activities through forming strategic partnerships with local agencies, including nontraditional public health allies that target eliminating inequities and the psychosocial and environmental determinants of health disparities.

5. Advocate for policy and environmental strategies to address health care disparities.

6. Recognize and deal directly with the fundamental social ills of poverty, social exclusion, widening disparities in wealth, institutionalized racism and discrimination of all forms.

Goals of the CAB collaborative:

1. Identify health issues from the perspective of community members.

2. Promote communication among community leaders and between community leaders and researchers.

3. Promote partnership and ownership in research projects that involve and have an impact on the community.

4. Identify and share resources and information.

5. Bring together community leaders and researchers for the purpose of designing, implementing, and evaluating research projects that are culturally sensitive and practical.

6. Communicate and interpret research findings and their implications for health to community members.

Health Disparities Research Workgroup Update

The following have been accomplished by group members in the past two years:

Research:

Facilitation of nine interdisciplinary research grants, six of which have been funded from foundations, and three pending review from the NIH.
Conducted six mock reviews of grant proposals and manuscripts
Held three “practice sessions” for conference presentations for new investigators
Published a minimum of 25 publications.

Mentoring/Education:

Developed a health disparities elective for interdisciplinary master’s and doctoral students, with the first course taught in Spring, 2005.
Held brown bag “lunch and learn” sessions monthly.
Involved graduate students in all activities, to include five graduate research assistants who are actively involved with health disparities research.
Sponsored a four-hour “NIH grant writing workshop” led by a NIH reviewer with 50 attendees.

Community Outreach/Partnerships:

Fostered collaborative efforts with minority academic institutions to include Paine College and Moorehouse School of Medicine.
Enhanced existing partnerships with the Augusta Housing Authority, Neighborhood Health Services Center, and Savannah River Site who now serve as co-investigators on two NIH applications.
Established a 25-member community advisory board (CAB) consisting of formal and informal ethnic minority leaders in the local community whose mission is to promote mutual understanding and cooperation in working toward improved research and improved health for community members.

Members of the CAB consists of the following agencies/organizations:

Noah’s Ark

Augusta Richmond County Weed and Seed

Miracle Making Ministries

Area Agency on Aging

Augusta Housing Authority

Neighborhood Health Services Center

Keysville Mayor

First Baptist Church (Stapleton)

CSRA Coordinator for Governor Perdue

Richmond County Public Health Department

Community Partnership for Families and Children

Family Connection

Emmauel Faith Tabernacle

Paine College

Keys Grove Baptist Church

Newberry Baptist Church

Police Chief (Wrens)

Council on Teen Pregnancy

Augusta State University

Richmond County Board of Education

Kids Restart

Communities in Schools

3 “lay” community members

CAB Minutes

Workgroup/Board Directory

Katrina Aaron - Augusta Community Partnerships

Dr. Jeanette Andrews, RN, PhD, Assistant Professor MCG School of Nursing

Amber Brown, RN, BSN - MCG School of Nursing

Kara Chappel – MCG School of Nursing

Pastor Walter Clayton

Evangelist Fred Cook

Stacey Crawford, Research Director – MCG School of Nursing

Corliss Derrick, MSN, Instructor, MCG School of Nursing,

Stephen Goggans, MCG School of Medicine, MCG - Department of Medicine, The Center for Health Care Improvement

L. Monique Hillman, BS, MPH, RN, Health and Wellness Coordinator Area Agency on Aging, a division of the CSRA Regional Development Center

Denise Hodo, MCG School of Medicine - Department of Medicine, The Center for Health Care Improvement

Darnell Holston - SIRBEC Health Solutions

Healther Holton, RN, BSN – MCG School of Nursing

Linda S. James, M.S., Director, Educational Enrichment Programs, Office of Educational Outreach and Partnerships, MCG School of Medicine

Rosalind Jones, APRN-BC, MSN, Assistant Professor, MCG School of Nursing

Dr. Laryssa McCloud, PhD, Research Scientist, MCG School of Nursing

James McCormick - SIRBEC Health Solutions

Jacqueline Miller MSN, Assistant Professor - MCG School of Nursing, MCG

Bernard Morgan - NBLIC

Dana Nelms, Executive Assistant, Miracle Making Ministries, Inc.

Joseph Pearson - NBLIC

Deborah H. Presnell, M.S.P.H., Research Associate - MCG Family Medicine

Melinda S. Rider, Executive Director - Neighborhood Improvement Project, Inc.

Reverend Dr. Frank Seabrook - First Baptist Church

Stanley D. Singleton, M.P.A., Associate Director, General Education Development Center (GEDC) - Paine College, Representative for the 100 Black Men of Augusta, Assistant Secretary

Davina Smalley, Project Coordinator - MCG School of Nursing - Member, National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer

Martha S. Tingen, PhD, RN, Associate Professor – MCG School of Medicine - Georgia Prevention Institute

Cheryl Waller - NBLIC