Special to the NNPA from the Seattle Medium
Hampton, Va. – Hampton University President William R. Harvey recently announced that Hampton University has received a $13.5 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to combat and reduce selective health disparities in minority men.
Hampton University will serve as the lead institution on the initiative and has asked several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) to partner in the implementation and advancement of innovative transdisciplinary research to effectively reduce health disparities in minority men. The other universities involved are Jackson State, Clark Atlanta, Howard, North Carolina A&T and St. Augustine.
Hampton University Men’s Health Initiative is focused on reducing health disparities, however, the ultimate goal is to improve the health of all Americans. For example, according to the American Cancer Society African-American men have a 59 percent higher incident rate of prostate cancer than white men. The Hampton University leadership believes that ones health and longevity should not be dependent on where you live, socioeconomic status, gender or race and ethnicity.
This Initiative has identified six areas to receive a comprehensive approach to narrowing the gender gap of health disparities. These areas are prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, melanoma in Hispanics and violence prevention. The researchers will implement a sustainable and transferrable collaborative research model in all of the six areas to positively influence the healthy outcomes of minority men.
“African-American men are disproportionately affected by major health issues,” Harvey said. “This important initiative will focus on research, education, training, and intervention outreach.”
Harvey praised the Hampton Team for their hard work and said, “this could not have been done without the leadership of Dr. Pamela V. Hammond and the Hampton team of Drs. JoAnn W. Haysbert, Charrita D. Danley, Elnora D. Daniel, Raymond Samuel, Nicholas Kenney, Linda Malone-Colon, Bertha Davis, Patricia Sloan and Ms. Alisa Rodgers. “
Samuel, will serve as the principal investigator and Kenney, the co-principal investigator.
“Health disparities among African-American men are striking and apparent in longevity and death rates,” said Samuel. “We are very pleased that this initiative was funded by the NIH and we are ready to go to work.”
