 In response to the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-525), the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) designated 23 higher learning institutions as Centers of Excellence. On February 1, 2003, the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health was awarded a $6 million five-year comprehensive Center of Excellence in Partnership for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training grant (known as Project EXPORT).
The University of Arizona’s Project EXPORT Center is a unique collaboration of the Zuckerman College of Public Health with the Mexican American Studies and Research Center (MASRC), the Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC), and the University’s Graduate College. The mission of Project EXPORT is to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities among Hispanics and Native Americans, specifically in the areas of diabetes and substance abuse. The Center will target Arizona’s racial and ethnic minority populations with the greatest socioeconomic need as well as the chronic diseases with the largest health disparities gap.
Since the Fall of 2004, we have been collaborating with two Project EXPORT community partners: the urban Hispanic community of Southside Tucson, specifically the residents of Sunnyside and Elvira neighborhoods; and, the rural reservation-based community of Hardrock, located in the heart of the Navajo Nation. Project EXPORT is organized around research, training and community outreach. Similar to other Centers of Excellence that are also located within geographic regions with high racial and ethnic populations and within health professional shortage areas, the Arizona Project EXPORT employs a “grassroots” strategy that matches the needs of the community with the strengths of the local institution. For example, the Project EXPORT Community Outreach and Information Dissemination (COID) Core partners with Hardrock’s chapter officials and community leaders to develop and implement culturally-appropriate youth wellness programs in order to reduce and eliminate the burden of death and disease due to alcohol and substance abuse.
At the same time, the Research Core solicited and awarded a pilot study grant to Dr. Xenia King, Research Associate in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Dr. King’s pilot project will study how Hardrock youth defi ne health and well-being, as well as identify how they cope with pressing substance abuse issues.
Finally, the Training Core has developed an “alternative spring break” for Project EXPORT Fellows who provide one-week community service for the Hardrock community. The synergy created among the Center’s community outreach, research and training cores captures an opportunity to foster a more cohesive and community-responsive approach.
Minority health disparities are a complex and multi-faceted problem. In order to broaden and strengthen collaborations with local, state, regional and national organizations working to stem the tide of health disparities and in order to expand funding to address important health equality issues among other racial and ethnic populations and across other areas of health disparity, the NIH-designated Project EXPORT Center was renamed the Center for Health Equality. This Center was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in September of 2004. Under this new name, UA faculty, staff and students in the Project EXPORT Program continue to work towards the reduction and elimination of health disparities.
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