College of Medicine 2022 annual report II | Page 28

The Center for Translational Behavioral Science

Naar , a world-renowned translational science researcher who came to FSU in 2018 , leads an interdisciplinary team that includes FSU Assistant Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs Norman Anderson and College of Social Work Associate Professor Carrie Pettus . In fall 2021 , they received the NIH Director ’ s Transformative Research Award , a $ 3.1 million grant to investigate racial inequities in the nation ’ s health-care system . It was the first of its kind to be administered by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities , part of the NIH .
“ The scientific literature has clearly established the existence of racial bias within the health-care system , so much so that it has recently been declared a public health emergency ,” Anderson said . “ Yet , there are few , if any , successful approaches to addressing this bias . Our project might be among the first to design , from the ground up , interventions that might reduce racial bias in health care , especially at the system level .”
The team is collaborating with patients , community members , health administrators , health-care providers and experts in the field to identify innovations and increase the likelihood of existing health systems and community partners adopting new evidence-based practices that could change the way health care is delivered . Their goal is to improve health outcomes among people who are marginalized and don ’ t really show up for care .
“ With everything that ’ s been going on in the world , it ’ s a recognition of the effects of racism on health and mortality , which is an affront to the social structure of our society ,” Naar said . “ Being awarded a grant to transform health-equity research by addressing racism was just overwhelming to me from the standpoint of recognizing we are taking meaningful steps as a society to actually do something about it .”
Also late last year , Naar was awarded a $ 6.5 million NIH grant to study how to prevent HIV spread in “ emerging adults ” ages 18-29 . Members of this demographic experience significant changes in social roles , expectations and responsibilities that can leave them vulnerable to increased alcohol use and poor self-management of HIV infections . The virtual study will collect data via wrist sensors worn by participants , and interventions will be conducted through videoconferencing . One added benefit of the study being virtual is that participants can be recruited from rural as well as urban areas , where most study participants have been recruited in the past .
The Clinical Translational Behavioral Science Community Youth Board , created by Naar , helps recruit participants through social media and dating apps . Since its creation , the board has organized as a nonprofit , providing advisory services to FSU and outreach to youth across the state .
“ Recruiting youth living with HIV [ to participate ] is not easy ,” Naar said . “ Youth Board members can say , ‘ OK , Florida State ’ s Dr . Naar is someone you can trust , you should consider enrolling in these studies .’ That makes a big difference . That ’ s a very different model of community engagement that we ’ re rolling out with this grant .”
The five-year grant , awarded by NIH ’ s National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , also involves researchers from the University of Florida , the University of Central Florida and Nova Southeastern University .
The CTBS mission – to promote public health and health equity by working with researchers , treatment providers and communities to develop interventions reaching diverse and underserved populations in local communities and beyond – dovetails with College of Medicine strategic initiatives . Other funded research involving the CTBS involves using public libraries to become disaster ‘ resiliency hubs ,’ facilities tailored to support residents , coordinate communication , distribute resources , and provide technical assistance before , during and after a disaster . Associate Professor Scott M . Pickett and Assistant Professor Jessica De Leon are working with an interdisciplinary team that includes faculty from the Colleges of Communication and Information , Social Sciences and Public Policy , and Social Work , and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering .
The research focuses on Calhoun County in the Florida Panhandle , an area still reeling from Hurricane Michael ’ s Category 5 wrath in 2018 . A National Science Foundation grant for a little over $ 581,000 awarded in December is funding the 12-month pilot project , and findings will be shared with all 67 Florida counties to address the resiliency gap rural citizens often experience in natural disasters .
“ It ’ s called SOLAR and it stands for Skills for Life Adjustment and Resilience ,” Pickett said . “ SOLAR is a community-implemented intervention to help people recover from natural disaster-type traumas .”
The SOLAR program recruits non-mental health
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