Research Working Group on Health Disparities in Later Life

The Institute on Aging supports the training and mentoring of predoctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty who are interested in aging and diversity.

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Overview of the Group

The group, which meets once a month, convened the first meeting in February 2005 and consists of a strong mix of 4 senior faculty and a diverse group of 15 junior faculty and post-doctoral students.  The group is led by Drs. Peggye Dilworth-Anderson (SPH) and Mary H. Palmer (SON).  The primary focus of the group is to provide mentoring to junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows, with a special emphasis on mentoring underrepresented minority faculty.  The major content area of focus is health disparities in later life.

Members of the group represent various departments and schools across UNC’s Chapel Hill campus, including allied health sciences, dental ecology, health behavior and health education, medicine, public health, nursing, and psychiatry.  Over the past five years, meetings have been held at the UNC Institute on Aging and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Since 2005, in addition to other publications by the group members, they each have published an average of three to five journal articles a year specifically related to race, culture, health disparities, or aging.  In addition to publications, many of the research working group members have given presentations at local, state, and national academic and professional conferences.  For example, one member has presented several times on religiosity and coping among older adults and caregivers, and another member has made several presentations on race and obesity. The majority of the members have successfully competed for grant funding.  For instance, one member received funding as the principal investigator on four research projects that focus on adult health and sexual behavior among African and African American men.  Another member received funding for two projects on race, obesity and health, and another received funding for two projects on race, caregiving, and disparities in end-of-life care.  Five members of the group have received, K-awards, career development awards.

The Research Working Group  is supported by funds from a KO7 award granted to Peggye Dilworth-Anderson  (2005-2010) from the National Institute on Aging : AG023113: Closing the Gap on Minority Aging and Health in Later Life.  Additional funding is being provided by UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC School of Nursing, and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development and the Center for Faculty Excellence.

Highlights about the Group Meetings

Attendance:

• Ranges from 6 to 19 people per meeting
• Average of 12 people each meeting
• Open invitation for researchers interested in health disparities in later life to join

Topics discussed:

• Writing and submitting grant applications
• Publishing high quality high impact journal articles
• Identifying and using strategies for conducting high-quality research
• Negotiating skills for consulting on projects, speaking engagements, and serving on boards
• Preparing for promotion and tenure
• Mentoring: being a good mentor and being a good mentee
• Identifying strategies to promote yourself and your research
• Developing and using strategies on self care and work/family management

Presentations:

• Identifying, writing, and submitting grants( Office of Sponsored Research; Phyllis Daugherty)
• Using the media to present research findings (Ramona DuBose, Director of Communications at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health)
• Mentoring and the UNC Center for Faculty Excellence (Ruth Walden, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the UNC Center for Faculty Excellence )
• Recruitment and retention in minority aging research (Laura Gitlin, PhD, Director, Jefferson Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Thomas Jefferson University)
• Project management (Anne Jackman, MSW, Sheps Research Center)
• Grant application changes and the NIH short form (UNC Grant Source Library; Elizabeth Allen)

Resources available to group members:

• Announcements about upcoming funding opportunities, conferences, etc.
• Pilot investigator funding
• Topical books and articles distributed free of charge to each member
• Funding for group members to hire a professional editor for grants and manuscripts

Avenues for support and feedback:

• Creation of writing groups in topical areas
• Promotion of  opportunities for group members to collaborate on articles and grants
• Provision of opportunities for group members to present their research to the group for critical appraisal and constructive feedback
• Creation of a trusting environment to discuss issues of work-life management