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NIH awards $1.2 mil. for Appalachian health study

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

JOHNSON CITY - Higher morbidity and mortality rates are well documented among Appalachian residents of all races and ethnicity.

But that which is not very well known are the combined health disparity effects of being a minority and living in a disadvantaged area.

East Tennessee State University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) want to bridge this gap.

Dr. Joellen Edwards, director of the ETSU College of Nursing Center for Nursing Research, and a team of researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from NIH to develop the Center for Translational Research for Appalachian Populations. The major goal of the center is to conduct research that takes knowledge about health promotion and disease prevention and develops and tests interventions that are culturally appropriate to these populations. Partnering organizations in the effort include Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a local Hispanic health coalition, the Northeast Tennessee Minority Health-Community Development Coalition and the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Office.

"This center will give us the infrastructure and resources to address health disparities in three targeted groups - Hispanics, African-Americans and rural people," said Edwards, professor of Family and Community Nursing at ETSU.

Faculty from Yale University, the University of Texas, Tennessee State University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey are serving as consultants for the project, along with a consortium of institutions affiliated with Oak Ridge Associated Universities that will provide access to mentors and advisors.

Four major agendas have been set for the center. The researchers will partner with community members representing the Hispanic, African-American and rural populations to educate and empower citizens to address health disparities.

Edwards said ETSU will model this "participatory action" approach from a similar project the College of Nursing, Department of Family Medicine, and members of an Hispanic community advisory board are currently conducting with the Hispanic community to address diabetes.

"If we want to address health concerns within a specific population, we must have members of the community involved from the very start," she said. "They will have a strong voice in guiding our research in a direction that will be meaningful to everyone. The new center will also develop culturally sensitive health information and disseminating it to target population groups."

Research will be a strong component of the grant.

"Our goal is to develop a cohesive research agenda that incorporates important components of health disparities research," Edwards said. "Faculty members from ETSU with an interest in this field of scholarly study will be mentored and trained to conduct projects that have a 'community-driven' focus."

In addition to Edwards, the ETSU research leadership team includes Dr. Fred Tudiver, director of primary care research for the Division of Health Sciences; Dr. Mary Kay Anderson, associate professor of Family and Community Nursing; Bruce Behringer, assistant vice president for Rural and Community Health and Community Partnerships; and Dr. Judith Hammond, assistant vice president for Community Outreach and Family Services.

East Tennessee State University
Box 70267
Johnson City, TN 37614-1700
(423) 439-1000
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