Structure
The Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) formed Oct. 1, 2006, as a unit of the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio.
IHPR is partially funded by UT Health San Antonio and the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. The IHPR also gets the bulk of its funding from federal, state and local grant funding, as well as support from partnerships and projects with non-profit and private groups and foundations.
The IHPR’s mission is to research the causes and solutions to the unequal impact of cancer and chronic disease affecting residents of South Texas and the nation to improve the health of all people while serving as a national model for health promotion research and education.
The IHPR’s four strategic goals are to:
- Assess the determinants, nature and magnitude of health disparities.
- Test and disseminate the efficacy and large-scale feasibility of potential behavioral, psychological and social policy interventions to reduce health disparities.
- Educate communities and conduct outreach to improve health outcomes.
- Train health professionals to reduce health disparities.
To achieve these goals, the IHPR has two support cores and three research sections.
Support: Administrative Core: Consists of a director, deputy director and appropriate staff to support and promote IHPR infrastructure and operational functions.
Support: Information/Evaluation: Unites expertise in information technology services (websites, graphics, computer programming, etc.), health communication (social media marketing, health promotion methods, development of culturally and ethnically relevant content, etc.) and evaluation services (qualitative and quantitative data, data management, biostatistics, etc.) to serve each of the three research sections.
Assessment and Analysis Research (AAR) Section: Investigate the nature, prevalence and determinants of health disparities with research focused on: genetic, familial, occupational and environmental factors influencing disparities in cancer and chronic disease risk; sources of disparities and access to and quality of screening and care; and organizational and societal conditions contributing to health disparities.
Experimental and Demonstration Research (EDR) Section: Conduct experimental studies, from clinical to community-level demonstration projects, to test the efficacy and feasibility of potential behavioral, psychological and social policy interventions to reduce health disparities.
Dissemination and Policy Research (DPR) Section: Translate basic research into effective interventions and professional training programs that can be replicated and disseminated to generate beneficial, evidence-based programs and policies that reduce health disparities and promote health equity.