Upcoming Events

November 18, 2009 3-4 PM Health Disparity Grand Rounds Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Health Disparity Research

December 12-13, 2009 KwanzaaFest Emancipation, Education, Enterprise, Taking care of your Health!

The Texas Center for Health Disparities (TCHD), an NIH-designated EXPORTcenter was established in September 2005 to prevent, reduce and eliminate health disparities in our communities through research, education and community relations.

 

Health Disparities in Texas

In 2004, the combined "minority" populations of Texas surpassed the non-Hispanic white population. By the year 2026, the Hispanic population is projected to become the majority population in Texas.

Published reports on health disparities in Texas have shown striking disparities in the health status, access to health care and risk factors between the racial and ethnic minorities and the general population in Texas. The racial and ethnic minority populations have a higher mortality rate from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, HIV and tobacco-related diseases. In 2000, there were only 41,000 health professionals serving these populations. Thus, there is an urgent need to train a large number of health professionals to serve the minority population in Texas in the near future. Additionally, training all health professionals in recognizing health disparities and educating minority populations regarding the risk factors would greatly alleviate the health disparities that exist currently and are expected to grow in the near future.

Establishment of Texas Center for Health Disparities

In 2005 The National Center on Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) awarded the University of North Texas Health Science Center $7.25 million five year grant entitled "Texas Center for Minority Health, Education, Research and Outreach" to establish and run a comprehensive center of Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (EXPORT). UNTHSC has been a leader among the health science centers in Texas in training minority biomedical scientists and in developing innovative programs specifically tailored to Texas minority populations. As part of our commitment to combat the problem of health disparities and promote educational and training activities for underrepresented minorities, the University of North Texas Health Science Center has established the TCHD.

 

Pilot Projects

The center focuses on research in areas such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, stroke and HIV. The first round of funded projects began at the beginning of March 2006. Currently there are about 8 projects funded by TCHD.

STAR Fellowship Program

STAR (Steps Toward Academic Research) Fellowship Program is a new and innovative program created by TCHD. It offers faculty from minority undergraduate institutions a full year of collaborative training and interaction with faculty from the UNTHSC and other institutions, directed toward fostering Health Disparities Research Initiatives. Ten faculty members are selected each year to join the STAR Fellowship Program each year, while maintaining their regular faculty positions.

TCHD Conference

As part of the Center's Outreach activities, annual conference on health disparities is organized every year at the end of May. Please check out our conference page to see information on upcoming conference and past conferences.