• Integrate research projects with community goals and values using out minority health task forces.
• Support the implementation of research projects.
• Support the development of additional applications for funding of studies that will address health disparities in small cities and that are planned and conducted through collaboration between university-based and community-based partners.
• Provide expertise on statistical issues in designing and conducting studies, analyzing the data and interpreting and presenting results.
• Increase interactions across units of UAlbany and between university-based and community-based groups to discuss the significance of health disparities.
• Identify new opportunity for multidisciplinary collaboration in research, with promise to develop into fully-funded, large-scale investigations.  Five pilot studies are currently in progress.

Research By CEMHD Associates

Our NIH-Funded Research Projects 2009-2016

Research By CEMHD Associates

Documenting Disparities in Technology Access, Information-Seeking and Vaccine Hesitantcy during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York's Capital Region Archana Krishnan, Ph.D., Lawrence M. Schell Ph.D., Annis Golden Ph.D., Masahiro Yamamoto Ph.D., Olivia Mata MA, Elizabeth Holdsworth Ph.D..The Capital Region collaborative community project was undertaken to document the social, economic and health impacts of COVID-19 on residents in the Capital Region of New York. A special emphasis was made on documenting disparate impacts on Black and African American (B/AA) communities, as they have been identified as being disproportionately affected by COVID-19. With the active participation of the Albany Minority Health Taskforce, our study team disseminated a comprehensive survey (N = 239) cataloging healthcare utilization, living conditions, technology access, information-seeking, vaccine hesitancy and impact of COVID-19. The present abstract focuses specifically on technology access and utilization, information-seeking, and vaccine hesitancy. Preliminary results showed high rates of regular mask-wearing and vaccine intent. B/AA individuals however, showed more hesitancy in getting the COVID-19 vaccine at t (217) = 2.38, p less than .05 compared to other racial groups. Concern about vaccine safety was the most frequent reason for hesitancy among B/AA respondents. The need for information related to COVID-19 was highlighted in the findings. Even though the internet (46.9%) and social media (37.7%) were common sources of information, they were not deemed as trustworthy as doctors (M = 3.54, SD = 0.97), state (M = 3.52, SD = 1.04) and federal health organizations (M = 3.45, SD = 1.02), and community clinics (M = 3.40, SD = 1.04). Differences across racial groups are currently being examined. Internet access was very high (95%) in this sample o; in fact, there did not seem to be a digital divide in both internet access and use among B/AA and others. While 24.8% indicated that the pandemic had severely impacted their internet access, there did not seem to be any disparities based on race. The team is currently analyzing the remainder of the data, which will enable us to propose recommendations on COVID-19 messaging.

AIMS: Albany Infant and Mother Study: Allison Appleton, Ph.D., Principal Investigator. Gestation is one of the most critical periods of development where maternal social experiences and aspects of the environment may influence child health for year to come. The Albany Infant and Mother Study (AIMS) was designed to identify biologic and epigenetic mechanisms that may help explain how psychological factors and environmental toxicants in the prenatal period may jointly shape disparities in infant health outcomes. Our study blends expertise in epidemiology, obstetrics, psychology, environmental health, and epigenetics to advance the science of health disparities and identify novel risk and resiliency factors among disadvantaged populations. The study began in June of 2015 and data collection is ongoing. A total of 300 mother and infant pairs are sought for the study. AIMS enrolls women between the ages of 18-40 with singleton pregnancies who are between 24-28 weeks gestation at an outpatient obstetrics clinic at Albany Medical Center (Albany, NY). For more information about AIMS please go to https://www.albany.edu/aims/index.php

Reproductive Health of Akwesasne Women: Lawrence Schell, Ph.D. Principle Investigator; Mia V. Gallo, Ph.D.; and David Carpenter, M.D Co-Investigators. This project seeks to determine whether the reproductive health of women of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (Akwesasne) on the St. Lawrence River has been adversely affected by exposure to chemical pollutants, primarily polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The community is adjacent to one federal, and two state Superfund sites and the levels of PCBs among residents of the community are high, near the 95th percentile of CDC reference values. There is considerable concern in the Akwesasne community regarding difficulties in conceiving and bearing healthy children as well as for other health outcomes. This project is a collaborative effort between the St. Regis Mohawk Health Service (SRMHS), and the University at Albany/CEMHD. Between 2009 and 2014 the study recruited 215 women between 21 and 38 years of age. Analyses of the data to date showed a reduced chance of ovulation in relation to specific polychlorinated biphenyls (the mono-ortho congeners) and no relationship with other PCB congeners or with HCB or p,p’-DDE. BMI was another significant predictor of the chance of ovulation. Data reflecting other aspects of reproductive health, cardiovascular and immune system health continue to be analyzed. Publications are listed on the publication page.                                                                                       

Project SMART: Funded by NIDA R21DA039842-01A1) PI: Frederick L. Altice, M.D., M.A.; Co- I: Archana Krishnan, Ph.D.: Use of cocaine and other substance use disorders have been shown to significantly worsen the health outcomes of HIV+ persons by decreasing adherence to medications, health care utilization, and HIV outcomes. The purpose of Project SMART is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of mHealth intervention tools (electronic pill boxes and smartphones) on medication adherence among people living with HIV (PLH) who use cocaine. The mHealth tools will measure real-time adherence to medication intake and send text message reminders and feedback to patients. Participants will be randomized to one of four groups: 1) control, 2) automated feedback, 3) automated feedback + clinician feedback, and 4) automated feedback + social network feedback. 

Capital District Built Environment Assessment Study (CDBEAS) is a research project based in the University at Albany School of Public Health. It was created in 2003 to collect information regarding in-store food and tobacco environment, outdoor walking environment, and health behavior of residents in the Capital District in New York. It is one of a few on-going longitudinal built environment studies in the U.S. The goals of this project are 1) understand how disparities in the built environments influence important health behavior and health outcomes, such as diet, smoking, obesity, and type 2 diabetes management, 2) promote "community canvassing" methods to directly observe changes in the environment, 3) help local governments and non-profit organizations to identify health needs and intervention priorities, and 4) provide training, internship, and in-class learning opportunities to students. Akiko S. Hosler, PhD, is the Principal Investigator. She is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and has over 20 years of community-based chronic disease research experience. More than a dozen School of Public Health students have participated in CDBEAS projects.

Protecting the Health of Future Generations: Charles Buck, David O. Carpenter, Pamela Miller and Frank von Hippel, Principle Investigators. Assessing and preventing exposures to endocrine-disrupting flame retardant chemicals & PCBs in two Alaska Native Arctic Communities on St. Lawrence Island (to be funded NIEHS 8/1/17). The objectives of this community-based participatory research (CBPR) project are to investigate exposures, endocrine effects and mechanisms of developmental disruption associated with legacy contaminants and emerging flame retardant chemicals in two Yupik communities on St. Lawrence Island (SLI) in arctic Alaska. The Arctic is subject to atmospheric deposition of globally distilled persistent organic pollutants (POPs), acting as a hemispheric sink for POPs that are transported from lower latitudes and contains some of the most highly contaminated animals and people in the world. This study addresses a primary public health concern of the people of SLI by focusing on the levels and effects of legacy and emerging contaminants on the development of children in an arctic indigenous population that is vulnerable, underserved, and experiences significant health disparities. As young children are more highly exposed than adults, we will use innovative and minimally invasive techniques to assess exposure of children to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and emerging halogenated and non-halogenated organophosphate flame retardants. We will quantify PCBs and flame retardant chemicals in household dust, known to be an important exposure route. We will assess relationships among contaminant levels and evidence of health disruption via transcriptomics and endocrinology. We will use chemical concentrations in household dust and utilization of a subsistence diet as determined by stable isotope analysis to assess exposure pathways of these compounds. In order to understand the mechanistic basis of developmental disruption, and to have a reference for interpretation of human data, we will monitor patterns of gene expression, endocrinology and histology of our resident fish model, the stickleback, from both contaminated and reference sties. Collectively, we will increase our understanding of routes of exposure, endocrine disruption, and effects on the transcriptome of Yupik children exposed to high levels of PCBs and flame retardant chemicals. This study provides an opportunity to investigate the levels of PBDEs and emerging flame retardants in nails and blood in relation to health outcomes of arctic indigenous children for the first time. Our CBPR project will also empower SLI communities with the knowledge and tools they need to address important health disparities in their communities. Our results will inform public health interventions and improve health outcomes in arctic children broadly. Furthermore discovery of bioindicators relevant to early detection of developmental disruption will enable early intervention and improve health outcomes. Importantly we will build capacity through our CBPR approach, public health interventions and policy outreach, which will mitigate future exposure of SLI children to toxic chemicals.

The Transmissions of Violence and Mental Health Problems within Social Networks: Melissa Tracy Principle Investigator. University at Albany, Faculty Research Award Program-B Sponsor. The goal of this project is to examine the spread of violence and mental health problems through different types of social relationships (e.g., between parents and children; between intimate partners; between peers) over the life course. We are using secondary data from population-based longitudinal studies (e.g., the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health) to inform an agent-based model of violence, substance use, and mental health outcomes in a simulated urban population. This model will be used to test alternative theories about the role of social connections as both increasing and decreasing risk for adverse outcomes. In addition, we plan to test hypothetical interventions aimed at reducing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in adverse outcomes.

Women’s Health Project: Annis G. Golden, Ph.D. Principle Investigator. Matthew D. Matsaganis, Ph.D., and Anita Pomerantz, Ph.D. Co-Investigator. The goal of this project has been to identify successful strategies for overcoming barriers that contribute to underserved women in smaller towns and cities not obtaining adequate reproductive healthcare services. The study (referred to locally as the Women’s Health Project) investigated how women’s preventive reproductive healthcare seeking is affected by particularities of the place in which they live, including privacy concerns created by the nature of their social networks, organizational images of healthcare providers, shared ways of talking about fears associated with reproductive health screenings, and disjunctures in the local communication networks linking residents and organizations. The project has utilized a mixed-method design, informed by principles of community-based participatory research and a social ecological perspective on community health promotion, to conduct and evaluate the efficacy of a variety of interventions. In tandem with the study’s goals of identifying effective intervention strategies for encouraging women to obtain regular reproductive health services, the project seeks a better understanding of how local organizations’ interactions with community members and with one another impact their community’s health. At the forefront of the project’s current activities is a peer health advocate initiative, which employs women drawn from the community to function as a bridge between the local residents and the health service providers. Wilkin, H. A., Matsaganis, M. D., & Golden, A. G. (in press). Implementing communication infrastructure theory-based strategies in community health access interventions: Lessons learned from two projects in two cities.  In Y.-C. Kim, M. D. Matsaganis, H. A. Wilkin, & J.-Y. Jung, (Eds.), The Communication ecology of 21st century urban communities. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Scott, M. E., Elia, A. R., & Golden, A. G. (2015). A communicative analysis of a sexual health screening intervention conducted in a low-income housing complex. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 43, 450-467. Matsaganis, M. D., & Golden, A. G. (2015). Interventions to address reproductive health disparities among African American Women in a small urban community: The communicative construction of a ‘field of health action.’ Journal of Applied Communication Research, 43, 163-184. DOI:10.1080/00909882.2015.1019546. Published online March 13, 2015. Golden, A. G., & Pomerantz, A.  (2015). Interpretative repertoires that shape African American women's reproductive healthcare seeking: “Don't Want to Know” and “Take Charge of Your Health.” Health Communication, 30, 746–757. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2014.89836. Published online August 21, 2014. Matsaganis, M. D., Golden, A. G., & Scott, M. E. (2014). Communication infrastructure theory and reproductive health disparities: Enhancing storytelling network integration by developing interstitial actors. International Journal of Communication, 8, 1495-1515. Available http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2566/1145 Golden, A. G. (2014). Permeability of public and private spaces in reproductive healthcare seeking: Barriers to uptake of services among low income African American women in a smaller urban setting. Social Science & Medicine, 108, 137-146. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.02.034

Our NIH-Funded Research Projects 2009-2016

1. Overcoming Barriers to African American Women's Reproductive Healthcare Seeking View the final report of this project
2. Environmental Contaminants and Reproductive Health of Akwesasne Mohawk Women View the final report of this project
3. Decomposing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health View the final report of this project

Overcoming Barriers to Underserved and Minority

Women’s Reproductive Healthcare Seeking

The purpose of this project, known in its local focus community as the Women’s Health Project, is to identify strategies for encouraging underserved and minority women to seek regular reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, STI screening, and breast and cervical cancer screening. The Project is rooted in the recognition of significant disparities in disease incidence and health outcomes for adult African American women on multiple indicators of reproductive health, and focuses on the city of Hudson, New York. It is led by Drs. Annis Golden and Anita Pomerantz of the Department of Communication, and is conducted in collaboration with Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.

The two primary interventions of the Project are community health education events on themes related to women’s reproductive health and a transportation voucher program for improving access to care. The community health education events have two distinctive features. One is to bring women in the community together with representatives of community-based health and human service organizations, which helps to build knowledge and trust on both sides. Events begin with resource fairs during which women can get on-site preventive health screenings (e.g. blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, STI/HIV screening) and receive assistance from Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood in scheduling an annual GYN appointment and obtaining a taxi voucher for transportation to the appointment. The second distinctive feature of the health education events is to have presentations made by persons who are from the community and reflect the diversity of the audience. This not only represents best practice in terms of connecting with the audience but also is a strategy for building a sustainable model of community health promotion past the life of the grant. The research team is incorporating lessons learned during the initial phase of the project into its strategies for working with the community, as well as continuing to document its activities and outcomes through an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Environmental Contaminants and Reproductive Health of Akwesasne Mohawk Women

This project seeks to determine whether the reproductive health of women of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe on the St. Lawrence River has been adversely affected by exposure to chemical pollutants, primarily polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Akwesasne community is adjacent to one federal, and two state Superfund sites. There is considerable concern in the Akwesasne community regarding difficulties in conceiving and bearing healthy children. This project is a collaborative effort between the St. Regis Mohawk Health Service (SRMHS) headed by Debra Martin, and the University at Albany/CEMHD. The community is solidly behind the project, and we greatly appreciate all the help SRMHS has given us. When the study began, then Tribal Chief James Ransom remarked, “Akwesasne has long been impacted by PCBs from neighboring industries. Women of child-bearing age are a particularly vulnerable at-risk group. We hope this research leads to improved health in our community and we thank UAlbany for the opportunity to participate with them on this important project.”

Decomposing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health

The overarching goal of this project is to examine the nature and determinants of health disparities not only between but also within racial/ethnic groups (non-Latino whites, Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, American Indians/Alaskan Natives) in the US. We focus on community size (e.g., urban vs. rural) as a potential determinant of disparities. The basic premise of the study is that by targeting the most vulnerable of the vulnerable groups, the health disparity between groups and in the overall population can be reduced more effectively. Different groups have different quality of health as well as different socioeconomic and demographic characteristics that can affect health and health inequality. Thus, the causes of health inequality might differ for different racial/ethnic groups.

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Complete List of Research Development Awards

Research projects that involve community partnerships can be difficult to get off the ground due to a lack of funding for the initial phase of the research. CEMHD has developed a University-funded grant program that helps resolve this problem by providing funds for pilot studies that employ community-based participatory  research (CBPR) methodologies. Each year, it awards several grants of $5,000-$6,000 for projects that show

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2011-2012 Research Development Award Recipients

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CEMHD Researchers Partnerships:

Department of Health on Technology Use Survey

Research Core News

UAlbany Honors The Women's Health Project as a Community Partner Making a Difference