Clinica Latina Opening

1. Clinica Latina Opening Javier I Escobar MD

2. Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-RWJMSNIH Funded Latino Researchers • Adriana Cordal M.D* • Esperanza Diaz M.D* • Javier I Escobar M.D* • Alex Interian Ph.D* • Theresa Miskimen M.D • Humberto Marin M.D • William A Vega Ph.D* * NIH Funded Researchers

3. Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School CURRENT NIH GRANTS LED BY THE LATINO INVESTIGATORS 1 P20MH074634-01 “MUPS in Primary Care Research Center” 1 R13 MH 66308-01 “Critical Research Issues in Latino Mental Health” 1 RO 1 MH60265-01 A2 “Treatment of Somatization in Primary Care” 1 RO 1 MH62209-01 "National Latino and Asian American Study". 1 RO 1 MH60265-01 A2 “Treatment of Somatization in Primary Care” 1 RO1 MH068801-01A2 “Ethnicity and the Diagnosis of Affective Illness” 1 T26 SM4714-01 “Cultural Competence in Mental Health Services”

4. Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms in Primary Care Research Center MUPS-PCRC Investigators: Javier I Escobar M.D (PI); Michael Gara Ph.D., Co-PI; Lesley Allen Ph.D (CBT); Robert Woofolk Ph.D (Psychotherapy); Paul Lehrer Ph.D (Psychophysiology); Alfred Tallia MD (Primary Care), Eric Jahn MD (Primary Care), Regina Liu PhD (Statistics Chair-Rutgers); William Vega Ph.D (Epidemiology), Shula Minsky PhD (Data Management); Betty Vreeland RN (Mental Health in Primary Care) External Advisory Board: Myrna Weissman PhD (Columbia); Gregory Simon MD (Univ of Washington); Kenneth Wells MD (UCLA); Jeanne Miranda PHD (UCLA); Ricardo Araya MD (Bristol); Charlotte Brown MD (Pittsburgh);

5. Specific Aims for MUPS-PCRS • Develop the research infrastructure needed to implement a services research program in primary care targeting patients with high levels of MUPS. • Assemble and test the critical pieces needed to formally evaluate the effectiveness of a collaborative stepped-care model starting with a set of non-pharmacological approaches for treating primary care patients with mental health problems presenting with MUPS. • Given documented disparities in mental health care particularly for low- income users of primary care services including Latino, African-American and other patients, studies will relate to patients in these lower- income minority groups and focus on how to approach these patients in a culturally effective manner. • Test a number of new, cost-effective, non-pharmacological treatments within the stepped-care model and examine how they impact such co-morbidities as depression and anxiety in primary care.

6. MUPS-PCRC (Continued) Develop and refine study protocols that would advance knowledge about the assessment, treatment and referral of such patients in primary care, which can develop into R01 research projects and set the stage for the developing center to become an advanced center in a period of five years. Four pilot studies are currently under way that will contribute pieces of the stepped care model. Provide a research and mentoring environment in which new investigators can learn and develop new research strategies for improving the condition of these patients. Examine how communities, patients, families, primary care physicians and psychiatrists accept these new models and start to disseminate them.

7. “Critical Research Issues in Latino Mental Health” National Institute of Mental Health, 2002-2007 Javier I. Escobar M.D., P.I Total Direct Costs = $ 354,808 Major goals of this conference grant are to hold annual gatherings that pair young Investigators doing research on Latino Mental Health with potential mentors, hence stimulating new research collaborations. This is used as a national model by NIH and other agencies

8. “Antidepressant Adherence Among Hispanics” Alex Interian Ph.D., PI; Javier I Escobar MD; Primary Mentor. Total Direct Costs = $ 575,064, National Institute of Mental Health. Major goal of the project is to foster the necessary skills to develop culturally competent treatments for Hispanics (recruitment and retention issues).

9. “National Survey of Latinos and Diabetes” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 09-01-06 to 08-31-07; William Vega PI. To provide Coordination for a National Study Carried out through the RWJ Foundation.

10. “Ethnicity and the Diagnosis of Affective Illness” 4-1-05 to 3-30-09; NIMH, William A. Vega PI; Michael Gara Co-PI; To understand diagnostic disparities (overdiagnosis of psychosis in African Americans), this study examines how patient characteristics (ethnicity) influence the diagnostic process in patients with serious mental illness.

11. “Cultural Competence in Mental Health Services” 10/ 1/02 to 9/30/06;   William A. Vega PI; To develop culturally competent practices curriculum for multicultural clinical care and a model for organizational care.  

12. “Treatment of Somatization in Primary Care” National Institute of Mental Health, 1/01/2001-12/31/2004 J.I.Escobar PI, Michael Gara Co-PI; Total Direct Costs = $ 1,000,000 Based at Chandler and Family Medicine Clinics, major goals of the project were to assess the clinical efficacy of a novel 10 session CBT protocol in primary care patients with common mental disorders presenting with high levels of medically unexplained symptoms. >75% patients were Latino immigrants from 11 different countries in Latin America

13. Country Origin of Latino Patients Recruited in Primary Care Study at Chandler Clinic (Escobar et al, 2006)