University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies Receives Major Federal Grant to Address Hispanic Health Issues

“The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies has received a $7 million, five year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These funds will create El Centro, a National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) University of Miami Center of Excellence for Hispanic Health Disparities Research.

“El Centro will promote research investigations targeted toward health issues that disproportionately affect Hispanics,” said Nilda P. Peragallo, DrPH, RN, FAAN, dean of the school and the grant’s principal investigator. “Few scientific studies have considered how factors such as culture or ethnicity impact differences that exist in the incidence, prevalence, and burden of specific diseases evidenced by specific populations.”

“As the demographics of our nation continue to shift, so too will the frequency and severity of culturally-influenced health problems,” Peragallo noted. “El Centro seeks to change this and improve the health and lifespan of all Hispanics.”

One of 16 such centers nationwide to be established with NIH funding, El Centro will promote research to develop culturally-tailored interventions focused on health conditions that disproportionately affect Hispanics, including substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, family and intimate partner violence, and co-occurring mental health conditions.

In addition to promoting research by senior investigators, El Centro will promote the work of young scientists in an effort to mentor the next generation of health disparities researchers. Researchers at El Centro will also collaborate with scientists from the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

“The University of Miami is a national leader in the effort to address health disparities,” said Donna E. Shalala, President of the University of Miami. “Through the pioneering work of El Centro, the Miami Institute for Medical Discovery and Health Disparities, the Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity, the medical school’s participation in the NIH Hispanic Community Health Study, and other notable efforts, the University of Miami is addressing key issues such as health equity and access to care that are fundamental to all of us.”

To read the full press release, please log on to www.miami.edu“

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