Research Projects

Description

Inequities in health exist within the United States, particularly across racial groups. Health equity has become a priority of the U.S. government and major health organizations; however, a consensus is lacking on racial health equity (RHE) definitions. RHE definitions and terminology will be reviewed from 1) websites from key health organizations, 2) theoretical and narrative studies, and 3) systematic reviews of RHE interventions. Comprehensive search strategies for theoretical and narrative articles (any year) and systematic reviews (since 2020) were developed with a research librarian using MeSH keywords. Databases including MEDLINE, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and the Campbell Collaboration library will be searched. Two reviewers will screen titles/abstracts and full texts. Disputes will be resolved by consensus. Preliminary results show that RHE definitions differ across health websites, although some definitions are shared and cite the same source. Many organizations, including those with a health equity agenda, do not report explicit definitions of RHE. Searches yielded ~2500 citations for theoretical and narrative articles and >7500 for systematic reviews. Our goal is to improve understanding of RHE constructs to help unify national RHE research efforts. This study was reviewed by multiple diverse stakeholders and is part of a larger research project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on centering racial health equity in systematic reviews. To read details about the project please review the protocol here.

Note

To review funding information for the large project click here.

Description

Individuals with dementia (IwD) fall more and experience greater subsequent dependency and healthcare costs than their cognitively intact peers. The Otago Exercise Program (OEP) is a structured, exercise-based, fall-prevention program that could be promising for IwD, and remote administration could overcome substantial barriers to program access for IwD. This 16-week feasibility study uses components of the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) to assess whether remote web-based OEP is a viable option for fall-prevention programming with IwD supervised by their care partners.

Dr. Uma Kelekar, Associate Professor of Healthcare Management and a Senior Research Fellow from Marymount’s Center for Optimal Aging received a grant of $30,493 from the CareQuest Institute of Oral Health to study disparities in access to oral health in the Emergency Departments for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) in the state of Maryland, United States. In this study, Dr. Kelekar will estimate the effect of distance from the patient’s location to the nearest hospital as well as the nearest dental providers in the community and answer how proximity to the ED and dental offices, community health centers (CHCs) and urgent care clinics affect the utilization of NTDCs in the ED setting. She will use the secondary dataset State Emergency Department Database (SEDD) 2017-2021 data and employ advanced statistical methodologies to conduct this zip-code level analysis.  The results of this study will fill in a significant gap in our understanding of the role of distance in the ED use of NTDCs and inform state policymakers to develop interventions that will help reduce NTDCs utilization in ED settings.