Measuring institutional and economic barriers for English- and Spanish-speaking communities
The development a new Multidimensional and Multilevel Measure of Institutional and Economic Barriers for English and Spanish speaking populations
This project builds a clearer tool to capture how institutional and economic problems limit health for English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maryland Baltimore NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11374967 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As someone who gets care, I want researchers to better understand the institutional and economic problems that make getting healthy harder. This project will create and test a new tool—combining survey questions and community economic data—to capture barriers for both English- and Spanish-speaking people. The team will use community surveys, public economic records (like business ownership and employment), and statistical tests to make sure the tool works the same way across different groups and languages. The goal is a reliable, multi-level measure that programs and health systems can use to find and address the root causes of chronic disease disparities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who speak English or Spanish, especially those from diverse racial/ethnic or economically disadvantaged communities affected by chronic disease, are the ideal participants.
Not a fit: People who do not speak English or Spanish or those seeking immediate clinical treatment (rather than contributing to measurement research) are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help programs and clinics target fixes for the institutional and economic barriers that drive chronic diseases.
How similar studies have performed: Previous measures have identified access gaps but often missed economic indicators and cross-language validity, so this work builds on existing approaches while filling key gaps.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- University of Maryland Baltimore — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Villalonga Olives, Ester — University of Maryland Baltimore
- Study coordinator: Villalonga Olives, Ester
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.