The Gulf Coast Transdisciplinary Research Recovery Center for Community Health brings together outstanding academic and public health institutions and centers as a Consortium. The Consortium will coordinate new research studies and projects with existing and new community partners on the Gulf Coast. The byproduct of such efforts will also lend itself to enhancing sustainable community infrastructures to address disaster preparedness in underserved communities. The Consortium members will include the Center for Research on Minority Health/The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center;the Chronic Disease Prevention &Control Research Center/Baylor College of Medicine;the Center to Eliminate Health Disparities and the PAHO/WHO Center for Training in International Health/The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston;the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine/Tulane University;the Miller School of Medicine/University of Miami;the Department of Family Medicine and Community Medicine and the Office of Faculty Affairs &Development/Meharry Medical College;and the Health Planning, Evaluation &Program Development/City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services. The Consortium will focus on (1) advancing innovative community-centered, transdisciplinary research that targets social determinants of health to promote health and prevent diseases in all communities;(2) Engaging community participation to work with transdisciplinary professionals to develop culturally competent intervention research for vulnerable populations;(3) Promoting educational opportunities, job trainings, social entrepreneurship and environmental justice that connects health, environment and economic development;(4) Integrating science, practice and policy to develop best health practices that lead to individual, group and community behavior change, and health security for communities and (5) Developing transdisciplinary and multisystem approaches to examine the root causes, consequences, correlates, and strategies for addressing poverty and inequality in the U.S. This application builds upon the expertise and strong history of seven major institutions, including a historically black medical college and centers in addressing disaster preparedness and management along the Gulf Coast. The Consortium is committed to working along the Gulf Coast. Its formation is evidence of such commitment in addressing community health in an innovative and long-term, sustainable way. The Gulf Coast Transdisciplinary Research Recovery Center for Community Health will combine expertise in environmental health, health disparities, and disaster preparedness to engage in a unique proposal with a unifying focus on "community health". Our study's results will ultimately strengthen the community health of a unique population that historically has been overlooked in health disparities research: those ethnic minorities and medically-underserved citizens who live in geographical areas prone to hurricanes, tornados and/or severe flooding. The consortium will include the Center for Research on Minority Health/The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center;the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Research Center/Baylor College of Medicine;the Center to Eliminate Health Disparities and the PAHO/WHO Center for Training in International Health/the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston;the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine/Tulane University;the Miller School of Medicine/University of Miami;the Department of Family Medicine and Community Medicine and the Office of Faculty Affairs and Development/Meharry Medical College;and the Health Planning, Evaluation and Program Development/City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services.

RC2MD004783

2009-09-27

2012-07-31