Blog

Read about the amazing things happening at the Center for Health Equity Research.

Resilient teamwork: partners adapt summer program during COVID

ld583 | July 20, 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed businesses and eliminated most summer programs in Arizona last year, a team from Diné College and Northern Arizona University’s Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) quickly pivoted to an online curriculum for Diné students in two longtime summer education programs… Read more

Community health workers improve birthweight of newborns through the Arizona Health Start Program, researchers find

ld583 | June 22, 2021

Through a comprehensive study of the last 10 years, researchers from Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona found that pregnant women and mothers enrolled in Arizona’s Health Start Program, which employs community health workers (CHWs) to conduct home visits, have lower rates of low birthweight and preterm newborns than women who did not participate in Health Start… Read more

Native American baby playing with toys from a plastic bucket.

SHERC investigators release resource guide for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

ld583 | June 16, 2021

Each year in Arizona, family members spend about 357 million unpaid hours caring for family members with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Before now, each caregiver in rural northern Arizona had to scramble and search for relevant resources for their loved one, often overlooking their own support and care… Read more

Virtual workshop will address chemical toxicants in water and interactions with climate change, June 14–16

ld583 | June 7, 2021

Understanding the connections between water contamination and human health—especially in the context of climate change—is critical to evaluating exposure risk and identifying next steps to eliminating these risks to all people… Read more

Camplain accepted into first cohort INSPIRE research education program

ld583 | May 26, 2021

Carly Camplain, doctoral student in interdisciplinary health and senior research coordinator for the Center for Health Equity Research, was selected for the first cohort of the newly created INSPIRE: Indigenous Substance Use and Addictions Prevention Interdisciplinary Research Education program… Read more

Conference on May 19 examines the impact of COVID-19 on border health

ld583 | May 13, 2021

The impact of COVID-19 has challenged border communities who were already working to improve their region’s social determinants of health — conditions where people live, learn, work, and play that affect their health and quality of life… Read more

Authors examine the implications of the Navajo Maternal and Child Health Needs Assessment at May 6 workshop

ld583 | May 3, 2021

For the first time, the Arizona Department of Health Services included the Navajo Nation in their 2020 Arizona Maternal Child Health Needs Assessment report, which is produced by the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health every five years… Read more

CHER receives almost $1.4M grant to develop culturally centered graduate certificate for health professionals focusing on substance use disorders in underserved communities

ld583 | April 21, 2021

Northern Arizona University’s Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) recently received an almost $1.4 million grant to create a graduate certificate training program for practicing clinicians and doctoral students in health professions… Read more

NAU researchers expand COVID-19 education and outreach through key collaborations

ld583 | April 20, 2021

According to Samantha Sabo, getting the COVID-19 vaccine to people who need it most requires a team approach with key experts in rural communities leading the way… Read more

Camplain, Lindly receive Researcher of the Year for Health Sciences; O’Connor receives Innovator of the Year

ld583 |

Ricky Camplain and Olivia Lindly both received the Northern Arizona University Researcher of the Year for Health Sciences, and Brettania O’Connor was named Innovator of the Year at the recommendation of the Honors and Scholarship committee… Read more