The purpose of this renewal application for two years is twofold: 1) To continue and expand collaborative relationships with professionals in Mexico and at Emory University conducting more extensive analysis of the data collected during the previous IRSDA, gaining further knowledge on contributors to child malnutrition in developing countries, specifically the influence of psychosocial factors. Due to the timing of data collection on the outcome measures of growth and development with the larger supplementation study (expected completion in September 2003), the candidate needs at least an additional year to further complete analyses in order to more fully understand the psychosocial influences on child growth and development. In addition, she plans to complete relevant publications and presentation of the results both at professional conferences and to the village community and field workers. Time in Mexico is needed to work closely with the INSP staff and co-mentor on data analysis and interpretation issues. 2) To initiate, building on information obtained in the original research, a preliminary study addressing the psychological well-being of women using the methodology of community participatory involvement with mothers of young children, significant family members, and health care professionals in the original IRSDA Mexican village. In addition to encouraging dialogue within the community regarding these issues, the study will provide important information for future R01 applications to obtain funding to assist the community in effectively addressing women's mental health needs. The candidate's immediate goals are to continue combining her backgrounds in Child Health Psychology and Public Health to address global health issues such as psychosocial factors influencing child malnutrition, growth, and development, and to expand this to developing ways to address women's mental health and well being in a developing country setting. In addition, the candidate's immediate goals are to continue with activities important to the development of her research career, including developing more sophisticated analytical skills, completing publications and presentations of study results, and the writing of new proposals for funding of relevant projects. The candidate's long- term goals include embarking on a career of independent research and teaching in international health, conducting field research, and working in an academic setting. She currently is an active member of the faculty at Emory University, in a Research Assistant Professor position, and is actively seeking to move into a tenure track position. Renewal of this award is extremely important in allowing the candidate to obtain the experiences necessary to meet these goals. [unreadable] [unreadable]
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter