CMS Awards $735K to Minority Health Researchers

 

CMS Awards Health Equity Funding to Three New Grantees The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) is excited to announce this year’s grantees for the Minority Research Grant Program (MRGP). For over two decades, the MRGP has supported researchers at minority-serving institutions through funding to explore and address health care disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, individuals with limited English proficiency, and rural populations. CMS OMH is proud to announce three recipients will be awarded grants to expand our commitment to advancing health equity among the populations we serve. Each grantee will receive $245,000 in funding to support their projects, which will examine critical public health disparities and increase health equity research capacities at minority-serving institutions. The 2021 grantees include: Meharry Medical College, Data Science Training to Promote Health Equity in Medicaid and Medicare Populations Meharry Medical College will receive funding to increase the research capacity of health disparities at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) by establishing an online, data science-based certificate program to equip minority health researchers with the expertise and skills needed to conduct impactful research. This will strengthen the pipeline of minority health researchers equipped to use CMS data to provide insights that will ultimately improve healthcare quality access and outcomes within CMS programs. Florida A&M University (FAMU), on behalf of the FAMU Board of Trustees, Improving Prenatal Care in Medicaid Populations Florida A&M University will receive funding to examine maternal health, including prenatal and pregnancy outcomes, for women who received services across three Medicaid programs. The study will assess whether the current services and benefits provided by these Medicaid programs sufficiently address factors that contribute to disparities or improvements in maternal health. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents, Ethnic-Specific Opioid Risk Prediction in Primary Care Using Deep Learning The University of Nevada, Las Vegas on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents will receive funding to use novel computational and clinical strategies, including a deep learning-based risk score model and its clinical assessment to identify ethnic-specific opioid overdose risk factors. The goal of the project is to reduce avoidable opioid-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits among ethnic minorities. To learn more about the Minority Research Grant Program and sign up for updates on funding opportunities, please visit go.cms.gov/minorityresearch.

 

 

CMS Office of Minority Health  |  Working to Achieve Health Equity Paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services