Mentoring in Community-engaged Research to Promote Health Equity for Latinos

Dr. Page is an Associate Professor of Medicine and infectious disease specialist engaged in clinical care, and public health research with a focus on expanding access to care for marginalized populations through community-engaged program building and evaluation. Over the last 15-years, her research has focused on: 1)

Elucidating the impact on health of stressors associated with migration and poverty; 2) Implementing and evaluating culturally and linguistically adapted interventions to improve access to care and utilization among underserved populations; and 3) Bridging the gap between scientific advances and real-world implementation

to reach communities at highest risk of disease. She is the co-founder of Centro SOL (Center for Salud & Opportunities for Latinos), and has established a community coalition that has developed culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to reduce health disparities among low-income limited Englih proficiency

Latino communities. The objectives of this application are to support a program for mentoring junior investigators interested in health disparities, and to foster innovative epidemiology and implementation science research through interdisciplinary and community-engaged approaches. The research strategy proposed in

this award capitalizes on existing multi-stakeholder community-academic-public health partnerships, as well as the infrastructure of Centro SOL and multiple independently funded research studies. This Mid-Career award explores the multi-level barriers and facilitators of engagement in healthcare and research through peers and

technology (hybrid methods) that leverage social networks, mobile health (mHealth) and trusted community health workers. Informed by the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model (IMB) and Social Network Theory, Aim 1 will determine the efficiency and acceptability of hybrid methods to promote healthcare

engagement among low income LEP Latinos. In Aim 2, the study will determine the efficiency and acceptability of using hybrid methods for recruitment, data collection, and research engagement among Latinos by comparing traditional convenience sampling approaches to sampling using technology-based methods. Using

the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and Research Effectiveness-Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key stakeholders to assess and inform implementation determinants and outcomes of hybrid methods to inform

future broad scale implementation (Aim 3). This proposal creates a platform for trainees to learn and apply skills in community-based research, implementation science, mHealth, network analysis, epidemiology, and health disparities. This work also seeks to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in research by prioritizing

community engagement and training opportunities for early-stage investigators who are under-represented in medicine and health-related sciences