HEALTH DISPARITIES INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
HEALTH DISPARITIES INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Addressing Health Disparities – A Pressing Need Tuskegee University has a long history of involvement with local, regional and national health care issues that date back to its founder, Booker T. Washington, who voiced his concern about the health conditions of blacks in 1914 at the Annual Tuskegee Negro Conference. Ninety-eight years have elapsed since that conference, and both national and local statistics continue to rank the state of Alabama, and the Black Belt region in particular, as one of the worst in the nation in terms of the overall health and health care of its citizens. As a result, many blacks suffer disproportionately from chronic conditions that are life altering such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS, and have shorter life spans and less access to quality health care. Because these conditions occur at greater levels among certain population groups, more than among others, they are called health disparities. The real issue now, just as it was 98 years ago, still becomes the extent to which we can have a meaningful impact on the health disparities occurring in these minority communities, and also develop collaborative solutions to promote holistic health and wellness initiatives. WHAT MUST BE DONE? First and foremost, recognizing that existing systems, policies and approaches are not significantly impacting certain populations in our society, therefore we must assume a leadership role in offering new paradigms in research, education/training, community engagement, and health policy/advocacy.
“ The institute wants to play a leadership role in engaging minds
to empower communities to eliminate health disparities. Many chronic diseases and conditions are preventable or can be delayed with healthy lifestyle interventions. We want to inform, persuade and empower individuals to take charge of their own health.” ROBE RT A M . T R O Y , P H .D ., D IRECTO R
MISSION
Following in the footsteps of our founder, Booker T. Washington, the former Tuskegee University president, Gilbert L. Rochon, Ph.D., established the Health Disparities Institute for Research and Education in December 2010 to bring a community-based focus to the staggering health disparities problem in the rural, underserved, Black Belt communities of Alabama. By combining the fundamental tasks of research and education, with the emerging needs of the Black Belt region, the institute is positioning itself to create new models that involve a multilevel, multidisciplinary approach to decrease health disparities. We listened to residents in Macon and Bullock counties and the other 16 rural Alabama counties that comprise the Black Belt and learned about the health care inequities that confront them daily. Armed with this information, the institute has already begun to focus on the following strategic initiatives to diminish the effects of health disparities in these communities: • Conducting transdisciplinary research on health disparities that combines biomedical queries with the social and behavioral sciences to uncover solutions to the complex problems outside the medical realm that can also impact an individual’s health, such as where they live, learn, work and play. • Developing policy and advocacy plans to facilitate healthier environments in the workplace and in rural communities. • Devising community engagement opportunities to empower individuals to take charge of their health outcomes. • Offering training and education projects to increase the health care and scientific workforce.
Forming collaborations to discover and examine diverse solutions. Raising awareness. Conducting and translating research. Educating and empowering residents. That is at the heart of our mission. That is the institute’s call to action, as it leads the effort in our rural communities in the Black Belt to reverse the downward spiral of disease and debilitation that is affecting the health and wellness of the minority community.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
The need to address the deleterious effects of health disparities in the Black Belt of Alabama and across the nation is urgent. The Health Disparities Institute for Research and Education, in the relatively short time of its existence, has begun to build the infrastructure of an operation that can take on this longstanding task and make a difference. But, the institute’s work has just begun. In order to create a truly integrative environment that can sustain the myriad of research, paradigm shifts and training challenges that solving health disparities issues present, the institute must secure $20.1 million in funding for the key priority areas listed below. We hope that you and others will be motivated to invest in the institute, confident in the realization that your return on investment will be counted in terms of the lives changed, the knowledge delivered, and the value added by the reduction in health care costs that will result in reducing these chronic diseases. Undergraduate and Faculty Traineeships, and Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships
$8.1 Million
Training a new cadre of health disparities researchers is paramount in the effort to transform communities and eliminate the disproportionate burden of disease in underserved and minority communities. New paradigms in training and education are needed to ensure that researchers have a thorough comprehension of the many facets which can be incorporated into a community-based participatory research approach. The institute seeks to attract and train outstanding students and faculty and offer them the opportunities to conduct and share cutting-edge, multidisciplinary, multilevel, research on health disparities. Toward that end, we are seeking funding for a total of 24 traineeships and fellowships. Endowed Research Professorships
$7 Million
Because of its collaborative approach to health disparities research and training, the institute plans to engage two seasoned researchers who have the expertise to examine health disparities in a more holistic manner. Securing an endowment for such prominent research professors of this caliber will undoubtedly attract other talented biomedical and social/behavioral scientists to the research team. Research and Administrative Facility
$5 Million
The university plans to seek funding for a new science building, which would contribute greatly to its efforts to attain status as a comprehensive research university. The institute proposes to occupy a wing of this new building with administrative offices, informatics and research laboratories that would be structured to facilitate interdisciplinary research and accommodate the latest biomedical, biobehavioral, and technological advances and strategies, as well as serving as a repository for community-based information on health disparity services and resources.
Tuskegee University is today poised on the brink of reaching yet another milestone in its stellar history, as we prepare to join the ranks of premier research universities in the world. In order to attain this goal we are embarking on a major capital campaign to raise $250 million – “Programmed for Excellence.” Of major importance to this campaign is the support of the Tuskegee University Health Disparities Institute for Research and Education and its programs, which are integral to our students’ overall educational experience.
C A M PA I G N F O R
Giving to the Tuskegee Health Disparities Institute for Research and Education, and the “Programmed for Excellence� Campaign If you have an interest in making a contribution in support of the Tuskegee University Health Disparities Institute for Research and Education, a representative will work with you and your advisers to assure that your gift is the greatest possible benefit to you and the university. Naming opportunities are available in recognition of major gifts to the college, and a university representative would be happy to explore those opportunities with you. For more information, please contact: Virgil E. Ecton Vice President for Federal Affairs and Director of the Capital Campaign 202-863-9384 vecton@mytu.tuskegee.edu Or Tuskegee University Office of Development 326 Kresge Center Tuskegee, Alabama 36088 334-727-8540 334-727-8195 www.tuskegee.edu