The Duke Center for REsearch to Advance HealthCare Equity (REACH Equity) has selected the second cohort of Career Development Awardees – REACH Equity Scholars. Targeting junior faculty, these two-year awards support mentored research projects focusing on the REACH Equity theme: addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health by developing and testing interventions that improve the quality of patient-centered care in the clinical encounter – a setting in which racial and ethnic disparities are well-documented. These four awardees will begin their time as REACH Equity scholars in July, 2019:
Larry Jackson II, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, Adult Cardiac Electrophysiology
Project Title: Decision Support Tools in Reducing Racial Disparities in Oral Anticoagulation use in Atrial Fibrillation
Dr. Jackson’s overall research aim is to apply the principles of shared decision-making to enhance patient-centered care and ultimately reduce disparities in the treatment of atrial fibrillation in racial and ethnic minorities. His REACH Equity project will determine patient (African American and white) and provider factors associated with acceptance or refusal of oral anticoagulants (OAC) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and develop an evidence-based decision support tool to reduce racial disparities in OAC use.
Melissa Kay, PhD
Research Scholar (as of 7/1/19), Duke Global Health Institute
Project Title: Feasibility of Delivering a Digital Intervention to Increase Diet Quality among WIC Recipients
Dr. Kay’s overall research aim is to reduce disparities in obesity by implementing obesity prevention interventions in vulnerable populations using digital technology. Her REACH Equity project will test a digital intervention to improve maternal diet quality to ultimately influence child diet and decrease early life obesity risk.
Tolu Oyesanya, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Project Title: Reducing Disparities in the Transition from Hospital to Home for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Their Families
Dr. Oyesanya’s overall research aim is to improve functional status, health, and well-being of patients with TBI discharged home from acute care and their family members for optimal recovery. Her REACH Equity project will develop and refine a TBI transitional care intervention that addresses racial/ethnic needs and preferences for Black, Latino, and White patients.
Tiarney Ritchwood, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Project Title: A Clinic-Based, Digital Health Intervention to Retain Adolescents in HIV care
Dr. Ritchwood’s overall research aim is to develop scalable and sustainable socio-structural interventions that improve outcomes among adolescents living with HIV (ALWH). Her REACH Equity project will develop a network-based, social support intervention to increase ALWH retention in HIV care and improve treatment adherence, and design a platform connecting ALWH with each other, providers, and social services.
The REACH Equity Career Development Award program is directed by Laura P. Svetkey, MD, Professor of Medicine and Associate Director of the REACH Equity Center. Scholars engage in mentored research and a career development program provided by the REACH Equity Center that includes a core curriculum, a works-in-progress seminar series, and an annual disparities research colloquium. Prior to the end of the 2-year award period, each scholar is expected to submit a grant application for next-stage funding.
Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, Director of the REACH Equity Center, said Duke selected these four scholars from an impressively competitive pool of applicants. “Our inaugural group of REACH Equity scholars has made impressive progress in their first year. I am extremely excited to welcome this outstanding second cohort of scholars. Their proposals provide creative solutions to developing and testing interventions that address health disparities in the clinical encounter across disciplines, diseases, and age groups. I look forward to working with them over the next 2 years of their REACH Equity support and beyond.”
The REACH Equity Center is one of twelve Specialized Centers of Excellence, funded by the NIH through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities NIHMD.
Request for Applications for the third cohort of scholars will be announced later this year for awards beginning July 1, 2020.
For questions, please contact Laura Svetkey, Director of the REACH Equity Career Development Award program, or Cheryl Miller, REACH Equity Research Program Leader.