New GW Center to Address Latino Health Disparities

Center is collaboration between SPHHS, community partners.

May 28, 2013

Mark Edberg

Mark Edberg, director of the Avance Center and an associate professor of prevention and community health at SPHHS, at the center's launch last week.

In an effort to address public health problems that disproportionately affect Latino communities, the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services last week launched the Avance Center for the Advancement of Immigrant/Refugee Health, a collaboration between SPHHS, the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers, the Rivera Group and other community partners.

“The Avance Center represents just the kind of university and community partnership that can both strengthen ties to the local community and at the same time address health disparities that affect Latino communities, not just in the D.C. area but all over the country,” SPHHS Dean Lynn R. Goldman said at a launch event last week, which also featured a panel discussion on Latino health disparities.

Latinos are disproportionately affected by obesity, diabetes, substance abuse, violence and HIV/AIDS, and often are uninsured, live in poverty and don’t receive regular medical care, experts said.

“We hope to better understand the complex factors and social contexts that can lead to these health risks in Latino immigrant communities,” said Mark Edberg, director of the Avance Center and an associate professor of prevention and community health at SPHHS.

The Avance Center includes four cores: administrative, research, training and education and community engagement and outreach.

As part of the research core, and in partnership with Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers in nearby Langley Park, Md., the Avance Center will implement and evaluate a program called “Adelante,” which seeks to build youth capacity as well as community opportunities. It’s the idea that positive support can lead to a reduction in risky behavior, Dr. Edberg said. Langley Park has a high concentration of Latino immigrants and refugees from Central America, including El Salvador and Guatemala.

The Adelante program will include youth leadership development, advocacy training, academic support and job training; fitness and recreation activities such as soccer, dance or other sports; art and mural painting; and engagement programs such as video, photography and youth journalism. The activities include prevention messages and information related to substance abuse, violence and sex risk while zeroing in on high-risk Latino youth and struggling families to provide them with case-management and counseling services as prevention.

“Through this program, we hope to see youth and families in Langley Park start to participate in healthier behaviors and to advocate for programs and services that can help build a stronger community,” said Luisa Montero-Diaz, director of the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers.

The center’s training and education core, meanwhile, will provide opportunities for GW students to engage with local communities, and the outreach core, via mobile and social media, involves community members in the overall prevention effort.

The Avance Center is supported by a five-year research grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.