Health Disparities: Leaders, Providers, and Patients

Investigators:   Timothy R B Johnson, Paula M. Lantz, Scott B. Ransom, Briggett C. Ford, Jody Rae Lori, Susan K. Nolen-Hoeksema, Kristine Ann Siefert, Antonia M. Villarruel, Lynn Perry Wooten

The issue of racial and ethnic health disparities is a broad and difficult challenge that quickly overwhelms traditional approaches. We propose a program of work that conducts a true interdisciplinary evaluation of health disparities leading to new and integrated strategic approaches. Our interdisciplinary research team will study and develop likely approaches to reduce one of the most stubborn and persistent health disparities in the nation, racial disparities in the outcome of pregnancy, from three important dimensions--Leaders, Providers and Patients. This research proposal has three overarching goals: 1) to develop an optimal infrastructure to support interdisciplinary research on persistent disparities in pregnancy outcomes; 2) using an interdisciplinary approach, develop testable hypotheses for new and more effective approaches to augmented prenatal care as a strategy for improving pregnancy outcome; and 3) to provide an effective mechanism for communicating research-based information to leaders, providers, and patients to improve access to and the quality and effectiveness of augmented prenatal care for African American women. We have chosen three complementary areas of focus, each with specific aims, for this interdisciplinary exploratory proposal. The Leader's Perspective: Assess the role strategic leadership and change agents in closing the gap of prenatal disparities. The Provider's Perspective: Evaluate health care disparities by reviewing microsystem barriers and opportunities to delivering augmented prenatal care. The Patient's Perspective: Evaluate and develop strategies to reduce barriers for pregnant women to seek out and obtain augmented prenatal care. We believe the study of these three different, yet complementary, areas will provide unique opportunities to reduce disparities in pregnancy outcome. This work will serve as a hypothesis generating vehicle to develop future interdisciplinary research protocols and programs. This work will serve as planning activity for the investigators to develop interdisciplinary research strategies to limit health disparities and improve neonatal and maternal care. Scholars representing 17 different, yet collaborative, schools, colleges, centers, institutes and departments will create a unique foundation to develop knowledge leading to more effective approaches. While our investigators are experts in their respective disciplines, the interdisciplinary hypothesis generation approach will allow the investigators to develop integrated and multi-dimensional proposals that will be unique, more likely to be effective, and have a greater impact than a standard single discipline approach.

Funding Period: 09/24/2004 to 07/31/2008

PSC Research Themes:

Health Insurance, Health Economics, Public Health (Health, Disability, and Mortality)
Health Disparities by Race, Gender, Context, SES (Health, Disability, and Mortality)


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