DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
FY
2002 Hearing on Special Populations/Health Disparities
Witness
appearing before the
House
Subcommittee on Labor - HHS -Education Appropriations
John
Ruffin, Ph.D., Director
National
Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
April
4, 2001
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I
am especially pleased to have this first opportunity to testify before you
as the Director of the new National Center on Minority Health and Health
Disparities (NCMHD). During
recent years unprecedented scientific advances have been achieved in
biomedical research that have extended the length and improved the quality
of our lives. Unfortunately,
however, millions of Americans have not shared in these advances due to
serious and persistent disparities in health outcomes as a result of race,
ethnicity, or lack of access to health care. The Congress recognized that the opportunities afforded by
today’s biomedical research enterprise can lead to approaches and
treatments that can help eliminate these disparities. With the creation of the new Center, we are well-positioned to
aggressively pursue a wide range of research initiatives that will lead to
a healthier life for all Americans.
BUILDING UPON THE SUCCESSES OF THE PAST
As called for in the law establishing the Center, we plan to significantly
expand the previous efforts of the former Office of Research on Minority
Health (ORMH). Through
collaborations with the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs), ORMH identified
projects and initiatives that should be conducted or supported by the ICs.
We have collaborated with our NIH partners in many successful
endeavors and are now poised to accomplish even more through such
cooperative efforts. Let me
cite just a few of the promising activities currently underway.
Working with the National Cancer Institute
(NCI), we have been successful in forging research relationships between
minority medical schools and the NCI Comprehensive Cancer Care Centers,
including: Meharry Medical College with Vanderbilt University, Morehouse
School of Medicine with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Howard
University College of Medicine with Johns Hopkins University, University
of Puerto Rico with MD Anderson, and Drew University with the Mayo Clinic
in Minnesota. This Committee
also is very familiar with our collaboration with the National Heart, Lung
and Blood Institute, which resulted in the Jackson Heart Study, often
called the “Framingham of the South.” This is a prospective review of the environmental and genetic
factors affecting disproportionate incidence of cardiovascular disease in
African American men and women.
In collaboration with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases we have funded the African American Study of Kidney
Disease and Hypertension and the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Program.
With the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
we are funding the Infant Mortality Initiative. We are supporting the Research Infrastructure in Minority
Institutions (RIMI) program with the National Center for Research
Resources. We also are supporting important research training programs
such as Bridges to the Future with the National Institute of General
Medical Sciences, Minority International Research Training (MIRT) with the
Fogarty International Center, and the Minority Fellowship Program in
Neuroscience with the National Institute of Mental Health.
FUTURE PLANS OF THE CENTER
The Center will expand its conduct and support
of research and research training, disseminate research-based health
information, and develop other important programs with respect to minority
health and other special populations with health disparities. We have developed the staffing structure for the Center, which
importantly includes three major divisions: 1) the Division of Research
will focus on initiatives to enhance inclusion of targeted minority health
disparities research as well as research on other health disparities; 2)
the Division of Scientific Planning and Policy Analysis will focus on the
development of major policy and program recommendations; and 3) the
Division of Community-Based Research and Outreach will focus on the
development and implementation of a community-based research program with
a focus on disease prevention, through implementation of health messages
in relevant racial and ethnic minority and disadvantaged communities.
The immediate Office of the Director will include offices of:
Communications and Public Liaison; and Research Training and Capacity
Building.
We are very excited that for the first time we have the opportunity to
develop a comprehensive strategic plan to guide our future efforts in
areas never before pursued. We
will develop the plan in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders,
including the NIH ICs, research scientists, professional and scientific
organizations, health care providers, consumer advocacy groups, academic
institutions, educators, industry, and the public. Our strategic plan will serve as the fundamental blueprint for all
Center activities and it will serve to better coordinate IC activities.
The process for its development will be critical to the Center’s
effort to reach out to minorities and, for the first time, to other
special populations with health disparities as well. Continuing the tradition of pursuing an ongoing consultative
process, we will work on a regular basis with our advisory council, the
NIH ICs, and our many stakeholders, to evaluate the range and
effectiveness of our programs and report to the Congress regarding our
progress.
We
have already established a trans-NIH task force, representing all NIH ICs,
through which the Center will coordinate NIH activities and develop a
comprehensive plan and budget for all NIH-supported research in these
areas. We are identifying new
areas of research opportunity for innovative, high priority projects.
We also are in the process of establishing the Center’s advisory
council that will provide advice on the development of our strategic plan,
budget, and programs. The
membership of our council will include a wide range of recognized experts
in minority and other health disparities and a number of individuals
affected by these disparities.
Through
our extramural research program, we will provide grants and contracts to
institutions or consortia to support programs of excellence in biomedical
and behavioral research training for individuals who are members of minority
and other health disparity populations. To facilitate research on minority and other health disparities, we
will provide endowments at centers of excellence across the country.
We also are creating a new extramural loan repayment program for
health professionals who engage in minority health research or research into
other health disparities.
CONCLUSION
Recognizing
that the process of medical discovery occurs in stages, the Congress has
provided many new opportunities to build upon the previous efforts of the
Office of Research on Minority Health. Our commitment to the research needed to ultimately eliminate health
disparities will be steadfast and enduring, and we will be ever vigilant in
our efforts. I am excited about
these opportunities and greatly encouraged by the strong support the Center
has received from the Congress, the Administration, my fellow NIH IC
Directors and from groups and individuals across the Nation. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Committee, and I thank
you for your attention.
