Despite improvements in the overall health of the older population and increases in life expectancy, significant health disparities remain between minority and non-minority older adults. Racial and ethnic minority elders are among the fastest-growing segments of the population, and the reduction and ultimate elimination of these disparities have become a national health priority.

The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded UCLA funding from the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) initiative to serve as one of six RCMAR research centers and as the RCMAR national coordinating center.

“I am excited to have UCLA join the National Institute on Aging as both the Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders and the RCMAR Coordinating Center,� said Sidney M. Stahl, chief of behavioral medicine for the institute’s Behavioral and Social Research Program. “UCLA’s dynamic researchers have a proven record of accomplishment in minority aging research and a commitment to reducing health disparities among U.S. seniors. We look forward to their input in this important program.�

Joining the National Institute on Aging in funding the RCMARs are two other NIH centers, the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This is the second five-year cycle of funding for this initiative, whose overall goals include:

· Developing improved recruitment and retention methods to enlist older minority group members in epidemiological, psychosocial and or/biomedical research projects.

· Creating culturally sensitive research measurement tools.

· Mentoring minority academic researchers for careers in aging research.

· Supporting diversity in the professional workforce conducting research on the health of minority elders.

The UCLA RCMAR research center, called the Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders, is based at the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The center is a collaborative program involving faculty from UCLA and Charles R. Drew University.

The Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders addresses health disparities for African-American and Latino elders through training and mentorship of minority faculty. The center also provides the research infrastructure needed to improve the health of minority elders, primarily by targeting African-American and Latino elders for participatory research within local communities.

The center’s principal investigator is Carol Mangione, UCLA associate professor of medicine, general internal medicine and health services research. Co-principal investigator is Leo S. Morales, UCLA assistant professor of medicine, general internal medicine and health services research.

In addition to the center, the UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology serves as the national coordinating center for all six RCMAR research centers. A vital component of the initiative, the coordinating center provides logistical support and leads the effort to ensure RCMAR research is disseminated to the larger research and health professional communities, public policy makers, the media, and consumers. The coordinating center is also the national clearinghouse for measurement tools, instruments and other resources developed by RCMAR investigators for use by health researchers and other professionals.

The RCMAR coordinating center principal investigator is Janet Frank, assistant director for academic programs, UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine, and director of the California Geriatric Education Center, a statewide geriatric education consortium. The co-principal investigator is Steven Wallace, professor, department of community health sciences, UCLA School of Public Health.

The complete list of funded RCMAR centers for 2002–07 follows:

· Columbia Center for Active Life of Minority Elders, Columbia University.

· South Carolina Cooperative for Healthy Aging in Minority Populations, Medical University of South Carolina.

· Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research, University of Michigan/Wayne State University.

· Center for Aging in Diverse Communities, University of California, San Francisco.

· Native Elder Research Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

· Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders, UCLA.