Posted
06/26/2007
USC awarded $2.7 million
NIH grant to help
improve health of under-served communities
A research team at the University of South Carolina
has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of
Health to improve the general health of residents in three under-served
communities in South Carolina.
Led by psychology professor Dr. Dawn Wilson, the
project is part of the S. C. Nutrition Research Consortium. The research
team comprises faculty from the university, as well as from Clemson
University and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The program will get under way in late fall in
low-income, largely African-American communities. The researchers will
work with 130 adults, ages 18 and older, in each of the three
communities, yet to be announced.
"Very few people work with such impoverished,
vulnerable communities," said Wilson. "We wanted to find those pocket
communities that are under-served and work with the residents to create
programs that will have a positive and lasting impact on their mental,
social and physical health."
Through focus groups with residents, Wilson identified
several community needs.
"They said they want to know their neighbors and feel
connected to their community," said Wilson. "They also wanted a safer
environment for physical activity and interaction."
Wilson said community involvement and leadership are
key in ensuring the program's success. Each community has a steering
community, made up of residents and a community leader who will serve as
a liaison with the research team, local law enforcement, city and county
leaders and local churches and schools.
Two communities will have a police-patrolled walking
program, each tailored differently. The third community will have an
educational program aimed at improving access to healthcare by making
information and guest speakers available on topics such as hypertension,
diabetes, obesity and stroke, all of which are more acute among African
Americans.
Wilson said the S.C. Nutrition Research Consortium,
which began in 2003 to foster more research on improving the health of
South Carolinians, played a major role in the NIH grant award.
"The consortium encourages collaboration, creative
exchange and team building, which are essential to make research and
statewide programs like this possible," Wilson said.
In addition to Wilson, the NIH grant team includes Dr.
Patricia Sharpe, Arnold School of Public Health; Dr. Abe Wandersman and
Dr. M. Lee Van Horn, psychology department at the university; Dr. Brent
Egan, MUSC; and Dr. Sarah Griffin, Clemson.
|