Research Training/Education Core

1. Research Training/Education Core Overall Goal - to enhance the interdisciplinary education pipeline and expand the number of persons working collaboratively with academia and communities to conduct health disparities research with underserved populations. ___________________ Matthew Borrego, PhD, RPh UNM College of Pharmacy Deborah Helitzer, ScD UNM School of Medicine

2. Research Training/Education Core Training and education resources to develop health disparities research skills 1) On-site health disparities research training for community members 2) Undergraduate seminars and summer research experiences in HD 3) Partner with UNM CTSC Research Education Training and Career Development Program to train university and community researchers Certificate in Clinical and Translational Research MSCR with Focus on Health Disparities Research 4) Creation of HD Related Training/Course Related Searchable Database

3. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges SA 1) Collaborate with the UNM Health Sciences Center’s Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) Research Education, Training and Career Development component to enhance an existing training and education pipeline with model health disparities training and education resources to develop health disparities research awareness, interest and skills. Accomplishments Met with CEC to discuss community/on-site training programs for community members. Worked with CTSC RETCD staff to tailor summer experience application, mentor and student recruitment and Summer Experience Schedule and Seminar/Topics schedule. 7 students and mentors will participate starting the first week of June 2011. Began an assessment and cataloguing current offerings of training materials, curricula and expertise for RTEC/CTSC training programs in order to strengthen existing courses or develop new content for existing courses for HD training and education. We have obtained 20 health disparities related course or training syllabi. Working with Research Core to develop rubric for abstracting and cataloging this information into a searchable electronic database. Began to identify strategies for recruitment of faculty members into the MSCR and Certificate pipeline programs. The goal is to identify/recruit new minority faculty members into these programs and target recruitment of current faculty members doing or interested in HD research.

4. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges SA 1 Challenges: Duplication of specific aims between Cores. Cores will need to increase communication. This challenge presents great opportunities as well. Recruitment of faculty members into the MSCR and Certificate pipeline programs. Difficult to recruit current faculty members into programs given demands of pipeline programs and pre-existing faculty duties and commitments. Targeted recruitment of current faculty members and incentives for incoming faculty (i.e. start up negotiations) may be needed to address this challenge. In-house technology and human resources challenges in trying to develop/catalog current HD research training and course offerings into searchable database. Time

5. Research Training/Education Core Increase mutual understanding about HD research process via faculty/community research mentorship models 1) Faculty Mentorship model Focus on junior minority faculty conducting HD research 2) Community Researcher Mentorship Model Partnership between academic researcher and community research mentor 3) The Triad Mentorship Model (combined faculty/community researcher mentorship models) Established faculty mentor, junior faculty mentee and community research mentor

6. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges SA 2: Increase mutual understanding between faculty and community researchers about the process of health disparities research by developing and implementing faculty and community researcher mentorship models and expanding minority faculty involvement in disparities research. • Accomplishments • Met with PIs of the two NMCARESHD Research Projects (Research Project 1 and 2) to discuss/identify potential faculty mentor, minority faculty member mentee and a community research mentors for implementation of Triad Mentorship Model. RTEC feels the NM CARES HD research projects lend themselves well as a “pilot-test” site for completion of the first triad of researchers. • Had many discussions as to the best method for identifying and selecting the faculty (junior and senior) and community researchers for the mentorship programs. Potential methods include tapping into the NM CARES HD funded pilot projects as well as faculty and research projects associated with the RWJF Center for Health Policy which funds a faculty grant program to conduct health policy research, many of which are community based and address HD related research questions.

7. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges • SA2 Challenges: • Trying not to overburden the NMCARES HD Research Projects as many cores are looking to them to complete grant aims. • What type of model do we use to recruit faculty mentees or mentors? Should it be targeted based on mutual research interests or should we have a “ general call for mentees and mentors”- similar to UPN program. • If we build it, will they come? Do community researchers have an interest in being in a mentor/mentee relationship. What is the best way initiate the relationship. Website announcement, community focus groups, target existing community research projects. • Time. Building relationships with current university/community research partnerships/projects to develop mentorship models take time.

8. Research Training/Education Core Work with other NM Cares HD Cores to develop a National Health Disparities Conference Expected outcomes of national conference: 1) Highlight community/university activities around HD education/research 2) Develop statewide community of collaborative HD researchers 3) Serve as a recruiting tool for participation in NM cares HD activities 4) Expose UNM researchers to emerging national research and methods in HD 5) Serve a public relations function by promoting the work of NM Cares HD

9. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges SA 3) Develop a NM CARES HD National Health Disparities Conference that will increase the bi-directionality and mutual understanding between faculty and community researchers around health disparities research and that will present emerging findings on disparities. • Accomplishments • Specific Aim 3 is an aimed shared by the RTEC, Administrative and the Community Engagement Core. • NMCARESHD National Health Disparities Conference will happen despite short time to plan. However, contribution of RTEC to planning of 1st National Conference was probably suboptimal.

10. RTEC Year 1: Activities, Accomplishments and Challenges • SA 3 Challenges • Given the shared role, delineation of roles related to curriculum, programming and speakers of next conference will be important. • Need to make sure communities are an equal partner in planning curriculum, programming, speakers and attendance at next conference. • How do we distribute the proceedings of the 1st National Conference to community and university stakeholders as well as other interested parties. Publication, presentation slides/materials posted on NMCARESHD website, web link to video of conference sessions, executive summary of proceedings.

11. Research Training/Education Core -Evaluation Plan SA1: Educational curricula. Evaluation will include tracking the number of individuals who: 1) enroll in and complete the Certificate in Clinical and Translational Science, 2) enroll in and complete the Masters of Science in Clinical Research program with a focus on health disparities, and 3) number of existing courses that have incorporated health disparities content. We anticipate that as the educational pipeline offerings become better known, the number of individuals taking the health disparities related courses will increase, as well as the number obtaining certificates or degrees. We will also track products such as health disparities grant applications, manuscripts submitted, grants awarded, presentations given, and papers published by the students participating in these formal training programs. SA2: Mentoring. We will track the number of faculty, community and triad research mentor partnerships that are formed. Mentors and mentees will be required to submit an annual written report detailing the activities of the mentorship relationship, including number of meetings; current activity on mutual research projects; grants written, submitted, funded; and presentations and/ or publications as a result of the mentorship relationship. Each will also be interviewed periodically to identify and proactively resolve potential problem areas. Separate mentee/mentor focus group interviews will be conducted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the faculty, community and triad researcher mentorship programs. SA3: Health Disparities Conference. The number and type (academic versus community) of Conference attendees will be documented. Conference attendees will be asked to complete evaluation/feed back forms on individual Conference seminars as well as an overall, global, conference evaluation. The results will be summarized and used to improve offerings for subsequent Health Disparities Conferences. Conference proceedings may also be recorded or catalogued, and presenters may be asked to submit conference materials, in an attempt to publish conference proceedings and presentations as a health disparities thematic issue in a CBPR or health disparities related peer reviewed journal.