Health Equity Research Core in the Woman and Child Institute
The goal of the Health Equity Research Core is to catalyze and support Pediatric research that prioritizes vulnerable children and addresses health disparities in both the U.S. and global contexts.
Health Equity Research Core Fellow Pilot Grant Program
Request for Proposals can be found HERE
Deadline for submission of preliminary concept survey: February 19, 2024
The preliminary concept survey can be found HERE
Deadline for submissions of final applications: April 29, 2024
Submit application to herc-request@lists.utah.edu
Congratulations to the Health Equity Research Core Pilot Grant 2021 Recipients!
Healthcare Discrimination in Children with Special Healthcare Needs
Stefanie Ames, MD, MS
Pediatric Critical Care
Research Question: What are the experiences and manifestations of perceived disability-based discrimination children with medical complexity within the healthcare system?
Methods: We will be conducting a multi-site qualitative analysis of the perspectives of families of children with medical complexity and a scoping review of the literature focused on disability-based discrimination in healthcare.
Impact: The results of this work will provide the framework to develop a survey instrument that comprehensively assesses the experience of disability-based healthcare discrimination in children with medical complexity and their families. This tool will then be utilized to understand the incidence and impacts of disability-based discrimination in healthcare in children with medical complexity in order to improve healthcare systems and promote health equity in this vulnerable population.
Improved Identification of Pediatric Disparities in Asthma Treatment
Michael Johnson, MD, MS
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Research Question: What is the impact of social determinants of health on the treatment and outcomes of children treated in the Emergency Department (ED) for asthma?
Methods: We will utilize the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research (PECARN) Registry, which harmonizes electronic medical record data across 10 pediatric EDs. We will use logistic regression to construct a model of hospitalization as an outcome for ED care, then evaluate the additional impact of SDOH (using the Childhood Opportunity Index, COI) on the prognostic accuracy of the model.
Impact: Results will improve our understanding of key mechanisms underlying disparities in pediatric asthma care, and identify actionable social determinants of health. Future models might examine the impact on asthma outcomes of more detailed social factors (e.g., individual domains of the COI), environmental factors (e.g. air pollution), and system delivery factors (e.g., provider-level variation). This research can inform interventions to mitigate disparities
Research Focus
We aim to support research activities and programs that meet one or both of the following criteria:
- Research on child health in low- or middle-income countries and/or with marginalized populations in the United States (e.g., immigrants, refugees, underserved urban environments, rural and tribal areas)
- Research that aims to understand and/or address disparities in child health, including disparities by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, language preference and gender identity
Areas of support
The Core provides services to Pediatric faculty and collaborators in the following three areas:
- Generation of study ideas and grant applications
- Networking of investigators
- Mentorship of junior investigators and investigators new to health equity research
If you would like to be added to the Core’s listserv or would like to request support, you can reach us at herc-request@lists.utah.edu.
Leadership
Dr. Krow Ampofo, MBCHB
Pediatric Infectious Disease
krow.ampofo@hsc.utah.edu
Dr. Melissa Watt, PhD
Population Health Sciences
melissa.watt@hsc.utah.edu
Dr. Elizabeth Keating, MD, MSPH
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
elizabeth.keating@hsc.utah.edu