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Completed Work

Research Group Concludes Successful Three-Year NIH Grant

In 2004, the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health was awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to form the West Texas Rural EXPORT Center. (EXPORT stands for Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities, and Training.)

In August 2007, the Institute concluded its three-year NIH EXPORT grant, realizing the goal of building bridges and partnerships across departments, campuses, and institutions in the study of rural West Texas healthcare disparities. EXPORT�s success is evident in the numbers of organizations, investigations, and investigators touched by the project.

During its three years of work, the EXPORT Center provided seed-grant funding for 28 projects over the course of three years with $580,339. EXPORT funded eleven projects over multiple years. Additionally, five projects funded over the entire three-year period were supplemented with local funding. The 50 primary collaborators came from nine departments in seven Health Sciences Center schools across four campuses, thirteen departments in five academic colleges at Texas Tech University, three other state universities and an independent school district. These projects covered a vast array of health topics relevant to rural West Texas, allowing for a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of health disparities in the region.

I. Studies

Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Health Research Services, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock "Clarifying Criteria and Assessments of Hispanic Subpopulation Definitions"

W. Lee Hand, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso "Differences in the Incidence and Prevalence of Diabetes among Diverse Hispanic Populations"

Juliann Scholl, Ph.D., Amy Heuman, Ph.D., Patrick Hughes, Ph.D. Department of Communication Studies, Texas Tech University "Improving the Quality of End-of-Life Care within the West Texas Hispanic Population"

Kenton Wilkinson, Ph.D., Alex Ortiz, Ph.D., Todd Chambers, Ph.D., College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University "Innovative Techniques to Enhance Health Communications among Hispanic Populations in West Texas"

Amy Koerber, Ph.D., Department of English, Texas Tech University "Breastfeeding Support and Promotion in Rural West Texas"

Melanie A. Hart, Ph.D., Karen S. Meaney, Ed.D., Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas Tech University "The Impact of Active Learning on Children�s Academic Performance, Behaviors and Daily Physical Activity"

Marc Lochbaum, Ph.D., Tara Stevens, Ed.D., Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences, College of Education, Texas Tech University "Creating a Longitudinal database on the Educational Context of the Obesity Epidemic in Rural West Texas Children"

Kitty S. Harris, Ph.D., Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, "Developing a Conceptual Framework for Addictive Behavior Research and Interventions in West Texas"

Karlene Hoo, Ph.D., Phil Nash, Ph.D., College of Engineering, Texas Tech University, "Remote Sensing Devices: Models for Field tests of Assistive Technologies for the Aging Population in rural West Texas"

Patrick Patterson, Ph.D., College of Engineering, Texas Tech University, "Practical SMART Housing for the Aging Population in Rural West Texas"

Robert Bradley, Ph.D., Department of Biology, Texas Tech University, Charles Fulhorst, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch "Issues at the Frontier of Animal and Human Health: Hantaviruses in West Texas Grasslands"

Margaret Vugrin, M.S., TTUHSC Library, Sandra Fortenberry, Ed.D. "Profiles of Disparity: A Photojournalism Archive of West Texas"

Angela Eaton, Ph.D., Department of English, Texas Tech University "Through Children�s Eyes and Elder�s Memories: Health Disparities in West Texas"

Kevin Mulligan, Ph.D., Department of Economics and Geography, Texas Tech University "Geospatial Analysis of Portraits of West Texas"

Debra Reed, Ph.D., RD, LD, Department of Nutrition, Hospitality and Retailing, College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University, "Review of Literature Related to Nutrition Education Interventions in Rural Populations"

Raymond S. Matlack, Ph.D., Department of Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences, West Texas A M University, "Zoonotic Baselines in Vector-Borne Diseases"

Paul Johnson, Ph.D., Adam Rafalovich, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Clarke Cochran, Ph.D., Department of Political Science, Texas Tech University, "Faith Communities in West Texas: Social Services and Support Networks"

Adam Rafalovich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Texas Tech University, "Neuropsychological Disorders in Children Living in Adverse Conditions in Rural Areas"

Patti J. Patterson, M.D., MPH, Office of Rural and Community Health, TTUHSC, "Trends Analysis in Body Mass Index (BMI) in School Populations"

Daniel Cooke, Ph.D., Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, Texas Tech University, "Data Knowledge: EXPORT Clearinghouse and Applications"

Ahmed Arif, M.D., Ph.D., Health Services Research Management, TTUHSC, "Incidence and Prevalence of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse in Rural Areas in West Texas"

Reid Norman, Ph.D., Pharmacology and Neuroscience, TTUHSC, "Developing a Biomedical and Clinical Framework for Addictive Behavior Research in West Texas"

Theresa L. Byrd, Ph.D., the University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health at El Paso, "Understanding System Variables in Colorectal Cancer Screening in Hispanics"

Cynthia Raehl, PharmD, School of Pharmacy, TTUHSC Amarillo, "Improving Care in West Texas Long-term Care Facilities Regarding Outcome Measures and Prescription Practices"

Ming Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences, TTUHSC, "Overcoming Access-to-Care Barriers in Cochlear Implant Services in West Texas"

J. Rush Pierce, M.D., MPH, Internal Medicine, TTUHSC Amarillo, "Topographical Analysis of Human West Nile Virus Infection in the Texas Panhandle"

Jeremy Franklin, M.D., Pediatrics, TTUHSC Amarillo, "Community-Acquired, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) Infection in Pediatric Patients"

II. Presentation and Publication Citations

Meaney, K.S., Hart, M.A., Patterson, P., Tustin, J., and Speer, J.B. (October 2005). School Based Interventions Take More Than Researchers: Overcoming Barriers and Creating Collaborative Teams. Cooper Institute Conference: Childhood Obesity, Dallas, TX.

Hart, M.A., Meaney, K.S. (August 2006). The impact of the TAKE 10! curriculum on children�s academic performance, behaviors, and daily physical activity: A pilot study. EXPORT Showcase, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX.

Meaney, K.S., Hart, M.A., Griffin, K., Kopf, K., Chilton, J. (October 2006). An East Side Education: Enhancing pre-service educators� cultural competence for teaching through community outreach, research, and service learning programs. NASPE Physical Education Teacher Education Conference, Long Beach, CA.

Vugrin, M., Fortenberry, S. (November 2006). Profiles of Disparity: A Photojournalism Archive of West Texas, SOPHE 57th Annual Meeting Health as a Human Right: Health Education, Equality and Social Justice for All" November 2-4, Boston, MA

Barbato, L and Mulligan, K.R., (2007), Mapping the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas, ESRI International User Conference, San Diego, California (map gallery contribution).

Barbato, L.S. and Mulligan, K.R., (2007) Mapping the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas, Texas Natural Resources Information System GIS Forum, Austin, Texas.

Hart, M.A., Meaney, K.S., Klavenieks, V. McCollough, K., Johnson, C. (submitted for presentation April 2008). Examining the effects of the TAKE 10! curriculum on classroom behaviors and daily physical activity levels. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Fort Worth, TX.

Koerber, A., (October 2007). Breastfeeding Support and Promotion in Rural West Texas: A Qualitative Study." 6th Biennial Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference, Little Rock, AK

Wilkinson, K., Ortiz, A., Chambers, T., (April 2007). Multidisciplinary Approaches to Addressing the Diabetes and Obesity Challenge among Hispanics in West Texas. Immigration, Education, Health, and Public Policy conference, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.

Wilkinson, K., Ortiz, A., Chambers, T., (August 2007). Use and Trust of Media Choices for Health News and Information among Rural Hispanics. Paper presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C.

Zhang, Y. (November 2007). Clarifying Criteria and Assessments of Hispanic Sub-population Definitions, 135th APHA Annual Meeting, Washington D.C.

Publications: Seven manuscripts were being prepared for publication at the time of the filing of the report I am quoting. At this time, I do not know what manuscripts those were; neither do I know their publishing statuses.

West Texas Atlas of Rural and Community Health
The F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health completed a collaborative venture with the Center for Geospatial Technology in the Department of Economics and Geography at Texas Tech University.  Computer-generated imagery generated from statistics spanning the past century were superimposed onto highly detailed maps to show community leaders and policy makers trends in demographics and natural resources for West Texas.  www.gis.ttu.edu/arch/ 

III. Working Relationships Established

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Texas Tech University

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

University of Texas

West Texas A&M University

Lubbock Independent School District