Postdoctoral Research Training in Child Health Equity - Pervasive health inequities persist in children from minoritized backgrounds (non-majority racial/ethnic backgrounds). Pediatric conditions such as asthma and lung health, obesity, and sleep problems disproportionately affect minoritized children and those from socioeconomically under-resourced backgrounds, contributing to health and functioning. Greater asthma morbidity and complications due to obesity on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic outcomes are disproportionately observed in these groups. Sleep health disparities, even in healthy children, are also highly prevalent, affecting children’s functioning and increasing risk for disease and poor outcomes. Key lifestyle behaviors such as dietary patterns and physical activity may contribute to variations in asthma, obesity and sleep outcomes in children. These conditions, individually and in combination, create substantial health care burden in pediatric populations, particularly for minoritized children. We propose the Postdoctoral Research Training in Child Health Equity Program, a multidisciplinary training program that will provide: 1) team-based research mentorship from investigators with expertise in child health equity, respiratory, cardiovascular/metabolic and sleep health, and related lifestyle behaviors, 2) rigorous didactic training that integrates consideration of child health equity in all aspects of the research process, 3) training in state-of-the-art clinical research and community focused methodologies, and 4) professional development opportunities to promote academic careers in child health equity. Didactic curricula will examine how internalized biases influence the scientific process. Development of projects will emphasize the application of the NIMHD framework to explain and address the multiple domains and levels of influence that drive health disparities. These perspectives will be integrated throughout training with didactic curricula focused on innovative, multi-method and community-engaged approaches to meet the needs of populations experiencing burden. In summary, the goal of our T32 Program is to prepare postdoctoral fellows with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to conduct child health equity research with pediatric populations experiencing health disparities in the targeted health conditions. Our training program aims to: 1) increase the number of MD/PhD postdoctoral trainees committed to clinical research the pediatric chronic conditions of focus by leveraging the strengths of the current training environment, including mentored research, didactic and career development components; 2) enroll 2 new postdoctoral fellows each year who will be equipped with a strong background in health equity research methodology and skills, and are supported to develop an impactful, rigorous research project that ultimately reduces health disparities; and 3) enhance the diversity of the research workforce in the targeted health-related disparities by committing to recruiting at least 50% of trainees from backgrounds underrepresented in research.
