NIH-funded research continues to support communities in the fight against COVID-19 and, in Michigan’s Washtenaw County, has helped change the tide of the pandemic.

As a grantee of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities research initiative, Dr. Erica Marsh of the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor and team worked closely with the Washtenaw County communities most affected by COVID-19 to spread the word about prevention, share facts about the vaccines, and counter misinformation. Marsh’s CEAL team partnered with faith-based and public health organizations, started a Take the Mic contest, and created a community gallery for people to upload pictures of themselves and messages about why they got vaccinated.

Dr. Elizabeth M. Viglianti at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center uses her NIH-funded research project to understand how to predict how a COVID-19 patient will fare in the ICU and whether they are likely to stay for a long time.

Through a joint NIH and CDC program, Say Yes! COVID Test, Dr. Juan Marquez—medical director for Washtenaw County—distributed free at-home rapid antigen tests to households. The initiative explored how frequent at-home testing can reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities and help keep members healthy. Read more.

The Say Yes! COVID Test initiative provided communities in five states with free at-home testing kits to combat the silent spread of COVID-19 and explore the role of frequent home tests in reducing infections. CareEvolution, LLC, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, developed an app that is used with the tests and manages the distribution of online test orders.

Say Yes! COVID Test is funded by several NIH institutes, including NIMHD, and others. It is carried out in collaboration with research teams from the University of Massachusetts, Duke Clinical Research Institute at Duke University, the Center for Health Equity Research at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Community Campus Partnerships for Health. Read more about the program and all its partners.

March 29, 2022 —  A study supported by NIMHD and led by researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University found that Black children with asthma accessed community health centers (CHCs) less than white children, while Latino children (who prefer to speak either English or Spanish) were more likely to visit CHCs for acute, chronic, and preventive care overall. The pattern of low clinic utilization by Black children was accompanied by more frequent emergency department visits compared to the other groups.

The research was published in Annals of Family Medicine and is the first to demonstrate that clinic and emergency department acute-care utilization patterns differ for Black and Spanish-preferring Latino children compared to White children. The difference in utilization at the CHC level suggests there are other factors beyond affordability influencing disparities in health care utilization. Read more.

March 15, 2022 — NIH is holding an essay contest for U.S. high school students ages 16-18. The Speaking Up About Mental Health! This is My Story contest aims to eliminate the stigma that young people may face when seeking mental health treatment and spark conversations that help encourage young people to seek help for mental health issues. Essay submissions are due April 30, 2022 and multiple winners will be awarded with cash prizes.

The contest is coordinated by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Read more.

March 3, 2022 — The Federation of Pediatric Organizations honored Dr. Fernando Mendoza with its distinguished 2022 Joseph W. St. Gene, Jr. Leadership Award. The award recognizes pediatricians who lead and serve as role models for clinicians, investigators, and educators in their field. Dr. Mendoza was recognized for his commitment to workforce diversity and to career advancement for clinicians from racial and ethnic minority groups. Additionally, he was recognized for being a researcher whose tireless advocacy for underserved pediatric populations and immigrant health has improved the lives of countless children and shaped the future of pediatrics.

Dr. Mendoza is Co-Director of the Academic Pediatric Association’s Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID), a program funded by NIH. Previously, he served as a member of NIMHD's National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities and also was Associate Dean of Minority Advising and Programs at Stanford University where he secured a Federal HRSA grant that established Stanford School of Medicine’s Center of Excellence for Diversity in Medical Education. Read more.

February 24, 2022 — A study led by Dr. Paula D. Strassle found that people from all major racial and ethnic minority population groups in the U.S. reported experiencing more COVID-19-related discrimination than white adults. Researchers measured the prevalence of discrimination in all major U.S. racial and ethnic groups and analyzed the impact of other social and demographic factors on COVID-19-related discrimination.

The study is published in the American Journal of Public Health and highlights the need for public health messaging strategies that address biases against all marginalized population groups. Read more.

LaPrincess Brewer, M.D., M.P.H., FACC, FASPC, FACP

Principal Investigator

Mayo Clinic Department of Cardiovascular Medicine

Rochester, Minnesota

Discusses her work using community engagement with African American churches to advance cardiovascular health as part of NIMHD's observance of Black History Month. Read the conversation.

Sakima Smith, M.D., M.P.H.

Principal Investigator

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology

Section of Heart Failure and Cardiac Transportation at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Columbus, Ohio

Discusses his work studying cardiovascular disease treatment disparities for African American populations. Read the conversation.

Preparing bariatric surgery patients for the challenges they may face after surgery is necessary for the success of their weight loss journey and long-term health improvement. Dr. Sarah Messiah and her research team investigated how people with obesity or patients recovering from bariatric surgery were coping with the initial COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020.

Her team found that during the lockdown, the patients reported increased sleep problems, feelings of anxiousness, and depression. A follow-up survey after the stay-at-home orders were lifted revealed that many of the patients were still reporting depression and were more than 20 times as likely to report substance use.

Dr. Elisa Morales-Marroquín, a third-year postdoctoral researcher who is part of Dr. Messiah’s research lab, discovered that individuals with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes were more likely to have hospital readmission and less weight loss in the first 30 days after bariatric surgery.

The next phase of the team’s studies aims to identify factors to help bariatric surgery patients maintain their weight loss and avoid complications; the researchers also are studying how care teams can help patients navigate logistical barriers, promote positive mental health, and sustain lifestyle changes. Read more.

Twelve students in NIMHD’s Division of Intramural Research presented their research to review panels and peers for NIH’s Postbaccalaureate Students Virtual Poster Days 2021.

Eleven of the trainees were mentored by lead investigators in NIMHD’s Intramural Research Program (IRP), led by Scientific Director of the Division of Intramural Research Dr. Anna M. Nápoles. A trainee in the NHLBI lab of the NIMHD director also presented her research.

The NIH postbaccalaureate program supports scholars as they embark on a career in biomedical research. The event provides an opportunity for the early scientists to share their NIH research while developing communication and networking skills. Read more.

Public health researchers and community organizations are using discussions, experiential learning, and social mixers to promote health equity. The group’s Fairness First Campaign aims to engage all community members in meaningful conversations on ways to promote health equity for those living in the Southwest. Read more.

An NIMHD-supported study found that additional, useful measures beyond BMI could help physicians identify African American women at higher risk of death after being diagnosed with breast cancer. A better understanding of the most appropriate body composition measures to evaluate risk in could ultimately help reduce this health disparity and be especially useful for primary care physicians and health care facilities with limited resources. Read more.

This NIMHD-supported study examined social and demographic factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among African Americans living in the southern U.S. Several social determinants of health, including employment status and housing insecurity, were associated with vaccine resistance and hesitancy in a southern African American community. Read more.

A team of researchers that included investigators from NIMHD’s intramural research program found racial differences in alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking behaviors between Black/African American and White individuals. The findings show how strongly the two behaviors were associated and suggest the need for further studies that also examine what factors drive the differences and how they relate to disparities in health outcomes. Read more.

This NIMHD-supported study examined and identified community-level risk factors for COVID-19 cases across Massachusetts at multiple time points during the pandemic. These findings show the need to further identify systemic factors associated with COVID-19 exposure and risk and to highlight shifting patterns. Read more.

An NIMHD and RADx-UP supported study identified racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic-related disparities in the location of early COVID-19 vaccination sites in Brooklyn, NY. The researchers found that early vaccination efforts primarily focused on neighborhoods with higher percentages of White residents and lower poverty levels; they also identified potential vaccination deserts. These findings suggested that multilevel solutions are needed to make vaccination access more equitable. Read more.

April 1^st kicked off our National Minority Health Month (NMHM) celebrations, a time when we join the HHS Office of Minority health in raising awareness about health disparities and encourage action to promote health equity. This year’s theme, Give Your Community a Boost, focuses on the continued importance of COVID-19 vaccination, including boosters, and supporting the Surgeon General’s efforts to combat health misinformation.

We invite you to view and share NIMHD’s promotion activities and resources which include:

• A social media toolkit with sharable messages and graphics
• April 20 Twitter chat with the HHS Office of Minority Health
• Minority Health Bingo in English and Lotería in Spanish
• Downloadable Zoom background and email signature

Read more and use our NMHM toolkit to participate!

Dr. Monica Webb Hooper, NIMHD Deputy Director, shared her perspective on ending structural racism in biomedical research with Bloomberg Law. Additionally, Dr. Webb Hooper provided her remarks on recently released Pew Research Center survey findings that showed that most African American respondents carried a mixed view of medical researchers; the majority trusted their ability to carry out science but remained wary of potential misconduct and the ability to own up to errors.

The article also discusses NIH’s UNITE initiative and includes comments from Dr. Marie A. Bernard, NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity and UNITE Co-chair. Read the full article.

NIMHD Director Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable and other leaders from the NIH and The Children's Inn at NIH participated in a conversation about health equity in pediatric clinical research. This event convened NIH leaders and researchers, lawmakers, Inn leaders, and families for an insightful discussion about how NIH and The Children’s Inn address health equity in extramural and intramural research and in the programs and services provided by The Inn.

The How Pediatric Clinical Research Can Promote Health Equity virtual conversation was held on February 17, 2022. Other speakers included Nikita Curry (Supervisor, Office of Patient Recruitment, NIH Clinical Center), Michele Kipke, Ph.D. (Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Co-Director, Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, USC and Vice Chair, Research & Division Chief, Children's Hospital Los Angeles), Jennie Lucca (CEO, The Children's Inn), Beth Maloney (Children's Inn Board Member), Cathy Morales (Chief Programs and Services Officer, The Children's Inn), Rep. Lauren Underwood (United States House of Representatives, IL-14).

Read more or watch the video.

NIH program, grants management, and review staff held a technical assistance webinar for RFA-RM-22-001 – Limited Competition: Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity at Minority Serving Institutions (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) on March 30 and April 13, 2022. Staff provided the overall scope and intent for the funding, discussed the review process, addressed the use of the cooperative agreement mechanism, and shared resources for implementing science research. The application deadline is May 23, 2022.

This funding opportunity is part of NIH Common Fund’s Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity initiative. Read more.

NIH-funded investigators who studying why some health problems are more common in rural areas and looking at ways to address them shared their comments in the March 2022 issue of NIH News. In an article titled Health in Rural America, Dr. Brian Rivers from Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Suzanne Judd of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Dr. Ty Borders from the University of Kentucky expressed their thoughts on how where you live affects your health, access challenges to receiving healthcare services, and the potential of telehealth and other approaches to improve rural health. Read more.

Dr. Rada Dagher, NIMHD Scientific Program Director, was interviewed for a feature that published in the February 28, 2022 issue of Mental Health Weekly. The article, Providers Must Step Up to Meet Mental Health Needs of New Mothers, focused on her 2021 published study that documented a significant prevalence of depressive symptoms among postpartum women and showed wide socioeconomic and racial disparities in mental health consultations.

Learn more about Dr. Dagher.

In a recent NIMHD Insights blog post, Dr. Celia B. Fisher, Professor of Psychology at Fordham University, shares how racial discrimination and racism increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact this has had on the mental health of racial and ethnic minority communities.

Her team examined the mental health effects of coronavirus victimization distress and coronavirus-related increases in racial bias among American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, and Hispanic individuals. Across all groups, coronavirus victimization distress and perceived national increases in racial biases contributed to symptoms of depression and anxiety.

She hopes her work will help illustrate how people are coping, highlight the need for creating mental health services that are tailored to specific group needs during health crises, and inform current and future policies for addressing mental health and social challenges. Read the full blog.

NIMHD Director Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable and National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless discussed the Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) initiative, in an NIMHD Insights blog. The NIH Common Fund program aims to enhance and maintain a culture of inclusive excellence in the biomedical research community. Drs. Pérez-Stable and Sharpless shared information about NIH’s commitment to this program, the first set of awards, and the final request for applications. Read the full blog.

Dr. Nancy Breen, NIMHD Economist, addressed the role of big data in reducing health disparities. Although big data advances the science of health disparities and can provide more timely and detailed analysis, potential algorithmic bias in machine learning and artificial intelligence may introduce implicit bias in the data and its analyses. Read the full blog.

Dr. Michael Sayre, director of NIMHD’s Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences (IBBS), retired from federal service after 22 years at NIH.

He looks forward to spending more time with his family, developing a pollinator-friendly garden, birdwatching, cooking, and traveling.

Read more about his career and service.

Dr. Thomas Vollberg, director of NIMHD’s Office of Extramural Research Administration (OERA), has retired after 28 years of service to NIH. Dr. Vollberg and his wife plan to relocate to coastal Delaware and travel more, and he plans to learn the guitar and read for pleasure.

Read more about his career and service.