Alabama CEAL partners with Social Action Champions to spread COVID-19 facts

Ethnic and racial minority communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded an effort to provide trustworthy information through active community engagement and outreach to those hardest hit. Using established partnerships, the NIH engaged research teams from across the United States and Puerto Rico to address COVID-19 disparities in underserved communities.

Two NIH-funded UAB MHRC initiatives work to increase vaccine numbers in underserved populations

Researchers with two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded University of Alabama at Birmingham initiatives, which are powered by the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC), have joined forces to understand and reduce testing and vaccination disparities for those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. 

Research finds surprising link between debt and health outcomes

Written by: Anne Heaney

Joseph D. Wolfe, Ph.D., an Associate Professor at UAB, and colleagues published a manuscript in the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences in June 2021, titled “Varieties of Financial Stressors and Midlife Health Problems, 1996–2016.” Wolfe and his team investigated the impact of financial stressors on physical and mental health outcomes during midlife.

Get stuck with Chuck. UAB MHRC and Charles Barkley host COVID-19 vaccine rally

Written by: Adam Pope

Charles Barkley is urging Alabamians to get stuck with Chuck.

UAB Preventive Medicine receives national grant to improve safety for Bessemer residents

Written by: Anne Heaney

The UAB Division of Preventive Medicine (DOPM) was awarded a grant from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reduce violent crime in Bessemer, Alabama and improve relationships between community residents and police officers.

Tuskegee University presents 'On The Vaccine Fence'

On June 11, 2021, Tuskegee University in partnership with Alabama CEAL, hosted a virtual citizen forum "On the Vaccine Fence: Connecting Spirituality & Science to Make Informed Decisions," to answer questions and address concerns surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. 

If you were unable to attend, below is a full video of the Zoom session. 

New Grant: RAMP-UP Multi-Year Summer Research Experience

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center and the Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) will use funding from a recent grant to launch an intensive multi-year summer experience: UAB Research in Aging through Mentorship and Practice—Undergraduate Program (UAB RAMP-UP).

Minority Health Month Feature: Dr. Lori Bateman

For those following along with our Minority Health Month researcher spotlights, we started the month by introducing you to Dr. Maria Pisu, who is pioneering research in EMOT-ECON (the relationship between the financial burden of disease and the effect it has on a person’s emotional well-being). Then, last week we showed you what Dr. Mona Fouad has been working on and the journey she took to get there.

Now, we want to introduce you to Lori Bateman, Ph.D., R.D., who is the principal investigator for YES! We Can Play. If you’re not familiar with the program, YES! We Can Play is working hard to solve a unique sports programming dilemma in Birmingham’s City Schools. In middle school, sixth-graders no longer have time for recess yet are ineligible to play on the sports teams offered to 7th and 8th-grade students. Additionally, many students don’t have access to the recreation or club sports that are available to wealthier families.