Grant Funding Blog

Evaluating School Nutrition Policies
PHDR investigator Susie Nanney, PhD, MPH, RD, has received a grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her project "Evaluating nutrition policies and practices in U.S. secondary schools: Do they vary by ethnicity, income or location?". This 2-year, $94,000 grant allows for the collection of nutrition and activity policies from U.S. schools through each state. Partners include Minnesota State Office of Education and Minnesota School Nutrition Association.

Social Factors Contributing to Retinopathy among Latinos
Few studies have addressed preventive eye care among Latinos by examining social factors. Michele Allen, MD, MS, is a University recipient of the 2008 Planning Grants in Health Disparities Research Program. In partnership with Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research (HACER), the study, "Examining Social Factors Contributing to Disparate Rates of Retinopathy among Latinos with Type II Diabetes in Minnesota" will conduct focus groups to identify whether Latinos with type II diabetes in Minnesota seek out preventive eye care. 

Culturally Sensitive Intervention for Peripheral Arterial Disease
PHDR investigator Tracie Collins, PhD, MPH has received funding from the President's Faculty Multicultural Research Award for her study "Minority Awareness of Peripheral Arterial Disease". The funding of $7,000 is designated for one year. This study seeks to identify peripheral arterial disease awareness among minority groups within the Twin Cities and to address culturally sensitive ways (e.g., Internet based programs) to improve disease knowledge.

Reducing Unconscious Bias in Clinical Settings
PHDR investigator Michelle van Ryn, PhD, has been awarded by UCare Minnesota for her study "Eliminating Disparities in Care: Development and evaluation of an interactive training module to reduce unconscious bias in providers' clinical decision-making ". There is overwhelming evidence of racial inequalities in health care, and a 2002 Institute of Medicine study reports racial and ethnic disparities are consistently found across a wide range of disease areas and clinical services. Increasing the perception of need for change and enhancing internal motivation to avoid bias, enhancing emotional regulation skills to promote positive emotions and reduce anxiety and physiologic stress reaction, and enhancing providers' confidence in their ability to successfully interact with socially dissimilar patients are included in the aims of this study. 

Psychosocial Factors and Stroke Risk
PHDR researcher Susan Everson-Rose, PhD, MPH has received $744,000 in funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her study "Psychosocial Factors and Stroke Risk in a Biracial Population". This 33-month study is designed to determine whether vulnerability to stress and/or increased stress exposure contributes to disparities in stroke risk between blacks and whites. Findings seek to inform future stoke prevention efforts, in particular, excess stroke risk among African Americans.

Secondhand Smoke and Children
PHDR researcher Jennifer Warren, PhD was recently awarded $126,863 by ClearWay Minnesota. This 18-month study is designed in partnership with Le Creche' Early Child Development Center to investigate parental and other adult secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among lower-income, inner-city African American parents of children 6 weeks to 5 years of age living in North Minneapolis. This project seeks to uncover perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to parental and other adult SHS to motivate parents to address the harms of SHS exposure.

Internet-based Smoking Interventions for African Americans
Program in Health Disparities Research postdoctoral associate Jennifer Warren, PhD was recently awarded $28,395 by Prevent Cancer Foundation for a 2-year study titled "Web-based smoking cessation among African American Smokers". The study aims to identify acceptable Internet-based smoking cessation programs for African Americans, development of an initial Web intervention, and conduct usability tests to evaluate the program.

Response to Minnesota's Freedom to Breathe Act
PHDR postdoctoral associate Carla Berg, PhD, has received $145,260 from ClearWay Minnesota for survey and focus group work with 2-year colleges and 4-year universities to characterize young-adult market segments and their response to Minnesota's Freedom to Breath Act. Demographic differences exist between ethnicity and socio-economic status for students of 2-year colleges and 4-year universities. This 24-month study aims to further the understanding of the different rates of smoking between the school types and specifically why the rates are higher among 2-year college students.

Promoting Home Smoking Restrictions
PHDR member Janet Thomas, PhD, has received $132,000 from the American Heart Association for a 2-year study on home smoking restrictions. The primary aim of this study is to develop and test an educational intervention to encourage the adoption of home smoking restrictions in African American homes. The intervention will be delivered through home visits facilitated by a community health worker/researcher counselor team and give biomarker feedback to both the smoker and non-smoker regarding documented exposure to air pollutants, nicotine, cotinine and NNAL in order to increase the adoption of home smoking restrictions and to motivate the smoker to make an attempt to quit smoking.