Tuesday, April 23, 2024
4/23/2024
PROJECT SUMMARY Suicide is the second leading cause of death for African American youth. From 2001 to 2017, suicides increased for African American youth by 60% for males and 182% for females. Additionally, studies find a racial disparity in suicide between African American and white children. Firearms are the leading method of suicide in this population. Firearm safer storage and possession of firearms shows substantial variation across place and time. However, the influence of state policies and regional factors on youth suicide by firearm remains unknown. My research will provide a social ecological framework for investigating these relationships. All aims will focus on African American youth. Aim 1 will assess whether state-level safer storage policies correspond with changes over time in the risk of suicide by firearm and the racial disparity. Aim 2 will use fine-grained information on urban school districts to estimate whether carrying firearms in schools precedes an increased risk of African American youth suicide by firearm and the African American/white racial disparity. I will achieve my Aims by using longitudinal, publicly available data and apply an innovative approach that combines epidemiological and econometric methods. I (Abhery Das, applicant) have an MHS in Mental Health and am pursuing a PhD in Public Health at University of California, Irvine (UCI). I am uniquely positioned for this fellowship because of my strong background in psychiatric epidemiology and experience working with mental health populations. The F31 award will allow me to 1) Develop knowledge on utilizing public policy as a tool for suicide prevention; 2) Situate my research with a racial disparities theoretical and empirical framework; 3) Advance proficiency in policy analysis and econometric methodology; and 4) Foster academic professional development. Training activities will include workshops, and seminar series, in addition to independent studies with my mentoring team and a monthly, in-person meetings with Drs. Bruckner, Tita, and Owens. The fellowship will be implemented in Public Health at UCI, which is an ideal training environment due to its strong history of mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration. This fellowship will be mentored by: Dr. Tim Bruckner (Sponsor, psychiatric epidemiology), Dr. George Tita (Co-Sponsor, gun violence reduction), Dr. Lonnie Snowden (consultant, racial disparities in mental health), and Dr. Emily Owens (consultant, expert in econometrics and criminology). The fellowship will equip me with knowledge, analytic tools, and professional competencies necessary to achieve my long-term goal of leading independent investigations in mental health and public policy.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
