CDC Continues Its Public Health Investment with Research Awards for Prevention

The impacts of different public health strategies in preventing, diagnosing and monitoring health conditions in community settings will be studied by four research facilities who received awards totaling almost $10 million, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

The two-year grants are funded under the 2009 Recovery Act. Prevention Research Centers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, New York University School of Medicine, and Oregon Health & Science University will receive awards

"The research conducted by the selected universities will build on strategies that can improve the health of communities and the performance of health systems," said Eduardo J. Simoes, M.D., M.S.c, M.P.H., director of the Prevention Research Centers. "The prevention research centers' expertise is in designing, testing, and disseminating effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies."

The competitively selected research projects will focus on:

* Reducing risk of cardiovascular disease by changing behaviors and encouraging appropriate use of medication through a Web-based versus a counselor-based program (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
* Preventing falls among older adults through usual care, an education program, and an education-plus-exercise program (University of Pittsburgh with the Pennsylvania Department of Health)
* Reducing blood pressure and colorectal cancer among African-American men by encouraging behavioral changes, guiding them through the health care system, and using a combination of the two approaches (New York University School of Medicine)
* Detecting diabetic retinopathy among American Indians and Alaska Natives through eye examinations by traditional means (in eye care providers' offices) and by telemedicine (Oregon Health & Science University)

In 1984, CDC's Prevention Research Center program was authorized by Congress as a network of academic health centers to conduct applied public health research. Today, CDC supports 37 centers associated with schools of public health or medicine throughout the country. Each center conducts at least one core research project with an underserved population that has a disproportionately large burden of disease and disability. The Prevention Research Centers involve community members, academic researchers, and public health agencies in finding innovative ways to promote health and prevent disease.

Source: CDC Release News