By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has received $9.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a study on Latino health in the Chicago area.
The grant is part of the largest study on Latino health and disease ever performed, a $61-million project conducted at four sites nationwide that seeks to understand the cause of chronic health problems for Latinos and how conditions in America may affect the health of immigrants.
Chicago is one of four research sites chosen nationally. NU will partner with the University of Illinois at Chicago for parts of the study, but the project’s chief researcher is Dr. Martha Daviglus, professor of preventive medicine at Feinberg.
“Here in the United States, there is a very large Hispanic population,” Daviglus said. “Chicago has the third -largest population in the United States after New York and Los Angeles. Yet we don’t have good data regarding Hispanic health.”
Daviglus said there is a high level of diabetes, hypertension and obesity in the Latino community and that the study will research the causes of these problems.
“Of course, the ultimate goal is to eliminate health disparities in the Hispanic population and in all populations,” she said.
One strength of Chicago’s population is its diversity, Daviglus said. The study will seek participants from all Hispanic regions of the world to get as complete a picture as possible.
“The study’s impact is to know what happens with Hispanics; to know the health problems and trends and to call attention to what the problems are,” said Esther Sciamarella, director of the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition. “We will have a better baseline to go off of.”
Dr. Paul Sorlie of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute said a lack of Latino health data made the study necessary.
The NHLBI is the primary agency responsible for funding the study within the National Institutes of Health.
“Immigration provides a very good chance to look at the acculturization process and the effects it has,” Sorlie said. “Preliminary data shows that some things are not going well (for immigrants).
“We want to understand the differences and why they happen.”
Sorlie said NU was chosen as a site for the study after a lengthy review process, which included a peer review board, a secondary review by government specialists and a site visit. NU ultimately won its bid because of a combination of technical merit and cost, he said.
Participants in the study will have free regular screening and examinations for health risks over a period of up to four years. Sciamarella said many participants may not have been able to afford this important medical care.
“We will ensure that we will have outreach available to navigate those people who need screening,” she said.
Screenings will be conducted by Feinberg’s Department of Preventive Medicine at CommunityHealth, a non-profit clinic that provides free health care to the uninsured. Laura Michalski, a staff member at CommunityHealth, said that the study will utilize its clinic because it may be “less intimidating” for participants than going to a university hospital.
Michalski said CommunityHealth serves the Hispanic community and is excited about the study’s potential.
“It’s absolutely necessary,” she said. “It could provide a lot of information and resources.”
Daviglus said NU medical students will have little involvement in the study, but students in the MD/MDH program may be involved at the CommunityHealth location, conducting examinations and screenings.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
