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April is National Minority Health Month

By Nicky Miller 

National Minority Health Month is an effort to raise awareness about health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minority populations. Some of the efforts by scientists in Kessler Foundation’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research, Center for Outcomes & Assessment Research, and Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, focus on studying how minorities with disabilities are affected and not properly accommodated for in their communities, at their jobs, and other areas.   

“We study how to improve quality of life for individuals from all races and cultures,” says John DeLuca, PhD, vice president for research and training. “We also focus on ways to enroll more people from minority groups in research studies. Having greater diversity in our study populations means our findings apply to more people with disabilities.”

Senior research scientists Anthony Lequerica, PhD, Denise Krch, PhD, and Denise Fyffe, PhD, study minority populations. Lequerica and Krch, are examining the best ways to evaluate quality of life among the Hispanic population and the factors influencing employment post-injury. Fyffe’s current clinical and research interests include reducing disparities in the care and quality of life of medically underserved rehabilitation groups. 

 

Kessler Foundation research related to minority health:

Relationship Between Hispanic Nativity, Residential Environment, and Productive Activity Among Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury: A TBI Model Systems Study.

Podcasts related to minority health:

  • Exploring Racial/Ethnic Contextual Factors Associated with Functional Independence in SCI
  • Cultural Sensitivity in Brain Injury Rehabilitation
  • Multiple Sclerosis RoundTable