Dillaway and UDM Research Team Receive NIH Grant

Dr. Heather Dillaway receives NIH R15 AREA Grant Award with UD-Mercy Research Team

Dr. Heather Dillaway and three UD-Mercy faculty members recently received a R15 National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Academic Research Enhancement (AREA) Award. The title of their NIH R15 AREA grant is "Social Determinants of Primary Care Utilization among Urban Community Mental Health Center Patients with Serious Mental Illness." Dillaway is one of three Co-Investigators on the project (the PI is Dr. Kristen Abraham from the Department of Psychology at UD-Mercy).

The funded, 3-year, mixed methods study will identify social factors that are associated with the use of primary care services among a diverse sample of people who are receiving mental health care at urban community mental health centers. People with serious mental illnesses face enormous health disparities and are at risk of premature mortality due to medical conditions. Ethnic and racial minorities and women with serious mental illnesses may encounter even greater health risks. Yet, rates of primary care use are very low among these populations. Therefore Dillaway joins a team of UD-Mercy researchers to investigate the ways in which individuals' social locations and other interpersonal factors (such as perceptions of access to health care, doctor-patient interactions, doctor-patient trust, etc.) may limit the use of available services. The long-term goal of this research project is provide knowledge that can help improve primary care utilization and ultimately reduce the substantial health disparities and premature mortality in these populations. Dr. Dillaway will be responsible for helping with the qualitative focus groups that will be part of this study and will also mentor student researchers involved in this project.

Congrats to the research team!