TraCS KL2 scholar receives NIH grants to address health disparities related to stroke and injury

Dr. Patel, team receive 2 NIH grants totaling $3.2 million to address health disparities related to stroke and injury

A key goal for the grants is to improve timely access to life-saving care for rural and underserved populations.

Mehul Patel, PhD, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine, and colleagues in the School of Medicine, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Eshelman School of Pharmacy were awarded two research grants from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

These two research projects are a direct product from Dr. Patel’s participation in the NC TraCS junior faculty career development (KL2) program.

1. “Stroke: Regionalization of Acute Stroke Care for Rural Populations: A Systems Modeling Approach.” (R01, 5 Year $2.8M Grant):

Improving access to acute stroke care for rural populations is critical to addressing disparities in stroke morbidity and mortality. Regional systems of emergency medical and hospital providers are essential to ensuring timely access to stroke care, although current system design and triage strategies are suboptimal for rural communities. This project will model and compare the effectiveness of emergency triage strategies across rural settings to inform optimal stroke systems of care.

Co-investigators from UNC include Jane Brice, MD, MPH; Kristen Hassmiller Lich, PhD; Amy Ising, PhD; Arrianna Planey, PhD, MA; Wayne Rosamond, PhD; and Anna Waller, ScD.

2. “Regional Trauma Systems of Care to Address Rural Disparities in Injury Mortality.” (R21, 2 Year $430K Grant):

Sudden and serious injury is a leading cause of death in the United States. The goal of this research is to improve regional trauma systems of care so that underserved rural populations have timely access to life-saving treatment. Analysis of existing data on trauma care and patient mortality, and key stakeholder engagement will be integrated to identify strategies to address rural trauma disparities.

Co-investigators from UNC include Ronny Bell, PhD; Kristen Hassmiller Lich, PhD; Sharon Schiro, PhD; and Benjamin Smith, MD.