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National Institute on Aging > Research > Research Programs (Extramural) > Division of Behavioral and Social Research
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Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)

RCMAR logo

Mission Statement

Health disparities are associated with a broad, complex, and interrelated array of factors. Risk factors, diagnosis, progression, response to treatment, caregiving, and overall quality of life may be affected by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, age, and other factors. Disparities in health status and medical care are most acutely experienced by the older population since they are at the highest risk for most diseases and disability. To eliminate health disparities, a widely established national priority, requires research that includes a special focus on the distribution of disease and disability between racial and ethnic groups in society.

The Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) mission is to decrease health disparities by:

  • Increasing the number of researchers who focus on the health of minority elders;
  • Enhancing the diversity in the professional workforce by mentoring minority academic researchers for careers in minority elders health research;
  • Improving recruitment and retention methods used to enlist minority elders in research studies;
  • Creating culturally sensitive health measures that assess the health status of minority elders with greater precision; and,
  • Increasing the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve their health and well-being.

The six funded RCMAR centers for 2007-2012 are:

Principal
Investigator (PI)		CenterPI Address
Allman, Richard M. and Fouad, MonaUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
1530 3rd Avenue South
CH-19, Room 201
Birmingham, AL 35294-2041
Jackson, James S. and Lichtenberg, Peter A.The University of Michigan
Institute for Social Research
426 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
and
Wayne State University
Institute of Gerontology
87 E. Ferry Street
Detroit, MI 48202
Johnson, Jerry C.University of Pennsylvania
Ralston-Penn Center
Room 208
3615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2676
Mangione, Carol M.University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research
911 Broxton Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1736
Manson, Spero M.University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Division of American Indian and Alaska Native Programs
Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building
Mail Stop F800, P.O. Box 6508
Aurora, CO 80045-0508
Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J.University of California, San Francisco
3333 California Street, Suite 335 Box 0856
San Francisco, CA 94143-0856

 

More information is available at the RCMAR Central Coordinating Center’s website at www.rcmar.ucla.edu. The central coordinating center provides logistical support to the RCMAR centers, and oversees dissemination activities designed to reach the larger research and health professional communities, public policy makers, and consumers. The coordinating center is also the national clearinghouse for measurement tools, instruments, publications, community activity, pilot research, and other resources developed by RCMAR investigators.

Related documents:

Contacts:

Janet C. Frank, DrPH
Director, RCMAR National Coordinating Center
10945 Le Conte Ave., Suite #2339
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1687
Phone: (310) 312-0536
Fax: (310) 312-0546
Email: jcfrank@ucla.edu

Sidney M. Stahl, PhD
Chief, Individual Behavioral Processes Branch
Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health
7201 Wisconsin Ave., Suite #533
Bethesda, MD 20891-9207
Phone: (301) 402-4156
Fax: (301) 402-0051
Email: Sidney_Stahl@nih.gov
Page last updated Sep 29, 2008