Fostering Interdisciplinary Research-early Stage Pilot Grants (FIRST)

Healing the Academy: Addressing Mental Health Disparities Among Underrepresented Graduate Students

Evelyn Vázquez Ph.D., Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health (Mentor: Ann Cheney, Ph.D., Co-mentor: Michalis Faloutsos, Ph.D.)
 

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  The proposed research focuses on underrepresented graduate students (UGSs), which include students who have had to overcome oppression and discrimination in their life. The research itself will engage stakeholders in research on underrepresented graduate student health and examine academic structures that contribute to poor mental health among this student population. The project work consists of two specific aims. First aim is to engage key stakeholders in examining the impact of academic environments on UGS mental health. Second aim is to characterize the academic environmental conditions that contribute to poor mental health among UGSs. We anticipate that the structural vulnerability model can explain how hostile work environments influence mental health burden among UGSs. We also anticipate that the combination of surveys and tech-enabled longitudinal light-weight data collection will capture nuances in academic structures explaining both historical and institutional factors in UGS mental health outcomes. 

Does replenishing California’s groundwater adversely affect water quality and disadvantaged communities?

Samantha C. Ying,  Assistant Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry (Mentors: Dr. Kathryn Uhrich, Dean of CNAS, and Dr. Scott Fendorf, Senior Associate Dean at Stanford University)

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  33 million Californians use groundwater as their primary drinking source. Due to California’s climate and recent severe drought, California’s groundwater needs multiple routes of replenishment to sustain agricultural, residential, and industrial uses. While these methods increase total quantity of groundwater, some methods to recharge groundwater may lower water quality which can adversely affect health of consumers in certain communities disproportionately particularly within rural agricultural areas. Flood managed aquifer recharge (flood MAR) is a relatively new method that is being explored to contribute to groundwater replenishment. Rainwater and other surface water runoff are funneled to large permeable basins on agricultural sites where water can then infiltrate to the aquifer. The proposed research will accomplish the first of 2 phases. Phase 1 will determine whether and how flood MAR will contribute to groundwater quality decrease within the vicinity of a MAR basin with Pajaro Valley through a series of biogeochemical experiments which may adversely affect the health of nearby communities dependent upon that water supply. We will engage stakeholders from the Community Water Dialogue of Pajaro Valley to disperse our research findings and to hold forums where stakeholders can provide information that will inform long-term research objectives and policies to increase groundwater quantity while maintaining drinking water quality. Phase 2 will determine the health impacts of the MAR-sourced metal contamination of groundwater.

Clinical Studies

A Tele-Health Model of Screening for Autism in Under-Resourced Communities: Closing the Gap in Access

Dr. Katherine Stavropoulos (Graduate School of Education); & Jan Blacher (Graduate School of Education)

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  The UCR SEARCH Center will use this grant to expand their current free autism screening/diagnosis program to include telehealth. This project is strengthened by partnerships with the UCR School of Medicine (Co-Investigator Dr. Takesha Cooper), stakeholders (Mirna Sucena), and internationally recognized experts in telehealth assessments (Dr. Zachary Warren). There is growing recognition of inequity related to accessibility of early autism screenings and diagnosis for underserved families. The current grant is designed to both increase access to quality autism diagnoses for families who would otherwise have difficulty accessing such services, and to systematically measure the efficacy and validity of telehealth compared to traditional in-person screenings. Our measures will include both caregiver ratings of satisfaction, feasibility, and utility of telehealth procedures and comparisons of diagnostic agreement across assessment settings (e.g. in person vs. telehealth). This dual approach is critical to increase our understanding of both whether telehealth is objectively as accurate as traditional in-person screenings, and whether families who would utilize telehealth services find the format acceptable, satisfactory, and convenient. By asking families about what aspects of telehealth they find most helpful (e.g. it saves time, does not necessitate taking time off work, does not require travel), we can tailor SEARCH’s approach to implementing telehealth procedures for families across the Inland Empire. Finally, our ability to provide all services in both English and Spanish based on caregiver/child preference will allow us to reach families who would otherwise be left out of research conducted only in English.

A Solution to Halt Further Isolation of People Aging with HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Brandon Brown, PhD MPH, UCR Social Medicine Population and Public Health

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  Prior to COVID-19, the HIV epidemic was arguably the worst public health crisis affecting the United States. While previously a death sentence, combination therapy transformed HIV infection into a largely manageable, chronic condition so that the majority of people with HIV now are over age 50. Many people aging with HIV have also endured significant trauma due to AIDS, including personal losses of friends and loved ones, contributing to high rates of depression. Physical distancing required for older people living with HIV who may be at increased risk for severe COVID-19 complications has enhanced the urgency to develop interventions that mitigate depression and isolation. Our preliminary COVID-19 survey data show that half of people aging with HIV reported experiencing anxiety and depression. Some reported skipping meals due to worries about money for food, and many reported missing a dose of their HIV medication during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the majority stating that they forgot as the reason. Our overall objective is to develop an online “virtual village” for use by older people living with HIV (PLWH) so that they can remain socially connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We will do this by (Aim 1) further characterizing issues related to depression, isolation, and basic needs of people aging with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic, (Aim 2) co-develop ideas for what to include in a virtual village, and (Aim 3) piloting activities for the virtual village. Methods: We will conduct key informant interviews and virtual focus groups as a follow-up to our quantitative needs assessment for older PLWH isolated during COVID-19. We will then utilize conjoint analysis for decision making on the key areas to include in the virtual village. Finally, we will pilot activities for the virtual village in a group of people aging with HIV in Palm Springs, including the deaf community which is often overlooked. We will utilize community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) processes throughout the project, allowing our community advisory board (which we developed from a previous project on HIV and aging) to steer all phases of the work. Community-driven research helps ensure community investment and a higher likelihood of sustainability of any outcomes, rather than researchers deciding what they feel is best.

Mental Health and Educational Risks through the Lens of Disparities: Elevating Family Resilience during COVID-19

Dr. Jan Blacher PhD, Graduate School of Education

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  COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented disruption to K-12 education. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, in-person instruction was suddenly replaced with remote learning, or the education of children at home. This major change led to worsened issues of equity in education, as well as heightened caregiving burdens and parenting stress at home. Although adverse effects of school closures are likely felt by all families, the impact may be disproportionally higher among vulnerable groups, including: young children who are largely dependent on caregivers for remote learning; children with special education needs who have experienced a significant reduction in support services that they rely on, and racial/ethnic minority children for whom inequalities might widen. For the richly diverse communities of the Inland Empire, pre-existing socioeconomic and health disparities threaten to exacerbate consequences of school closures. Yet, the existing research on COVID-19 has overlooked the role of distance learning in contributing to health outcomes and disparities. To address this limitation in the field, this proposal seeks to conduct a study of family adaptation as a function of family stressors, resources, and perceptions of remote learning with 500 parents of school-aged children in the Inland Empire. Utilizing a mixed-methods longitudinal design, the specific aims are to: 1) describe immediate family needs and experiences of school closures; 2) assess how families fare across spectrums of child development, disability, and race/ethnicity over time; and 3) investigate intervening variables that may predict family adaptation outcomes. This proposal generates a new opportunity to empirically explore parent narratives as a step towards determining the impact of COVID-19 on families with school-aged children, as well as assessing community resources and capacities for mitigation. Findings from this research will contribute to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which disparities emerge, with the goal of elucidating pathways to family resilience.