Kyaien Conner, PhD, LSW, MPH, Associate Professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, received a $2.5 million dollar research award funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI AD-2019C1-16066). Her project is entitled: Examination of The Evidence-Based Care Transitions Intervention Enhanced with Peer Support to Reduce Racial Disparities in Hospital Readmissions and Negative Outcomes Post Hospitalization.
This grant is a large research grant via PCORI's Addressing Health Disparities mechanism that will examine the impact of a community-based Care Transitions Intervention (CTI) enhanced with peer support to reduce disparities in hospital readmissions and other negative post-discharge outcomes (e.g. mortality, quality of life, ED visits) among older African Americans and Latino/Hispanics living with chronic disease. Dr. Conner is principal investigator (PI) on this project and has Co-I's from multiple USF colleges and departments: Mental Health Law and Policy (Drs. Amber Gum and Larry Schonfeld), Nursing (Dr. Usha Menon), Internal Medicine (Dr. Daniel Haight), Public Health (Dr. Jason Beckstead), Aging Studies (Dr. Hongdao Meng) and Child and Family Studies (Dr. Linda Callejas).
This project will also fund two doctoral students in the interdisciplinary PhD program in Behavioral Healthcare, Erica Anderson, MS and Ana Aluisy, MS. This award is in partnership with three local hospitals (Tampa General, Advent Health and Lakeland regional). Dr. Conner hopes that this research will contribute to the evidence base supporting culturally relevant community-based interventions toward reducing disparities in health outcomes.