Community partnership program to reduce heart and metabolic disease disparities
Community Engagement Core
This program works with Deep South communities to tailor prevention and care for obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11145054 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From my perspective, the Center builds partnerships with community groups, clinics, and public-health agencies across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to design prevention and care programs for obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. They apply a precision public health approach, using local information about beliefs, preferences, and context to match the right interventions to the right communities. The Community Engagement Core leads outreach, communication, ethics-informed planning, and helps researchers translate findings into community and system-level actions. Community members may be asked to give feedback, join surveys, share health data or samples, or participate in locally delivered programs shaped by these partnerships.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults in Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana who have or are at risk for obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure and who want to join community-based programs or research activities.
Not a fit: People outside the three-state region or those seeking immediate clinical treatment rather than community-focused programs may not receive direct benefit from this Core.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could make prevention and care programs more relevant and accessible in the Deep South and help reduce cardiometabolic health disparities.
How similar studies have performed: Community-engaged and precision public health approaches have improved chronic disease outcomes in some settings, though region-specific evidence for the Deep South is more limited.
Where this research is happening
Birmingham, United States
- University of Alabama at Birmingham — Birmingham, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Baskin, Monica L. — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Baskin, Monica L.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.