Innovative research initiative receives $6M award to fight health disparities fueled by poverty in Puerto Rico

An innovative Puerto Rico-based research initiative will receive a $6M award over five years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to promote structural changes and address poverty as the main barrier fueling health disparities in Puerto Rico. The initiative, led by the non-profit applied research organization Grupo Nexos, will employ a collective impact approach to promote policies, practices, and programs to reduce socio-economic determinants associated with health disparities of children, youth, and families’ mental health.

Grupo Nexos, a Puerto Rico non-profit public health organization that implements scientifically proven intervention strategies in the community, will manage the initiative, working in partnership with the Hispanic Alliance for Clinical and Translational Research, Kennesaw State University, and Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud (Youth Development Institute). 

“Research shows that impoverished children and youth are at the greatest risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes. Our main challenge with this initiative is to reduce child poverty and increase mobility opportunities that foster equity, wellness, and healthy development.  We believe that it is paramount to intervene in the social context and provide additional resources for children and youth from less privileged socioeconomic status to attain their full health potential”, explained Dr. Marizaida Sánchez Cesáreo, one of the initiative’s principal investigators and executive president of Grupo Nexos.

Poverty is the structural barrier fueling health disparities in Puerto Rico, according to Kids Count Puerto Rico, with 57 percent of children and youth living under poverty levels with a median household income of $21,492. The project will address 20 municipalities in the southwest region of Puerto Rico.

The award is part of the NIH Common Fund for Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS), which funds programs focusing on specific issues in communities contributing to poor health. By empowering community organizations to study ways to address the problems within the communities they serve, this NIH program aims to drive innovation, promote health equity, and ultimately improve the lives of individuals and communities nationwide.

The award is one of 26 awards to community organizations and a coordination center announced by the NIH to enable research into sustainable solutions that promote health equity to create lasting change in communities nationwide. The projects will examine underlying conditions and environments influencing health outcomes by enabling structural intervention development, implementation, and assessment. Structural interventions alter social determinants of health by changing factors that create differences in opportunities to achieve optimal health.

The ComPASS Grupo Nexos project is funded by NIH Common Fund award 1OT2OD035677-01 and managed collaboratively by NIH staff from the Common Fund; National Cancer Institute; National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; National Institute of Nursing Research; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, with many of the NIH Institutes Centers and Offices providing input and participating in program development and management. More information is available on this video and the ComPASS program website: https://commonfund.nih.gov/compass.