A teenager on a dangerous trajectory toward substance abuse and unprotected sex. An HIV-positive woman struggling with her treatment regimen. Domestic partners trapped in a devastating cycle of psychological and physical abuse. Such serious health issues are sadly typical of the experience of millions of U.S. residents of Latino heritage.

The nation’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority population, U.S. Hispanics suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and domestic violence, as well as associated mental health disorders such as depression. To help identify the reasons and to develop effective interventions, the School of Nursing and Health Studies received a $7 million, five-year grant from the NIH-National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The funds support the creation of El Centro—the University of Miami Center of Excellence for Hispanic Health Disparities Research (El Centro de Investigación de Salud Hispana), a collaboration with the Miller School of Medicine.

As of this writing, El Centro is the only comprehensive NIH-funded center for health disparities research to be based at a nursing school and the only one in Florida. Marshaling the expertise of researchers within the School of Nursing and Health Studies and the Miller School’s Center for Family Studies, El Centro also will tap resources in several other University departments.

“Few studies have considered how factors such as culture or ethnicity impact the health of Hispanic-Americans,” says nursing dean Nilda P. Peragallo, who serves as the initiative’s director and lead investigator.

With the HIV/AIDS rate among Hispanic women four times that of Anglo females, Peragallo will lead a three-year randomized investigation aimed at reducing HIV risk among more than 450 Hispanic women. A five-year study led by Daniel Santisteban, Ph.D. ’91, research professor in the Miller School’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, will evaluate a new family therapy model for use with at-risk Hispanic adolescents.

The NIH grant also funds two initial pilot studies. An 18-month study led by nursing professor Victoria Mitrani, A.B. ’80, Ph.D. ’86, will evaluate a family-oriented therapy to improve the health of HIV-positive Hispanic women in prenatal care. A one-year study led by Elias Vasquez, assistant dean for community outreach, will adapt an intervention program originally developed for Hispanic women to help Hispanic men affected by substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and intimate partner violence.

In addition to providing resources such as coursework, seminars, mentoring, and fellowships, El Centro studies will involve students who will learn “firsthand the importance of culturally sensitive investigations,” says nursing associate dean for research Denise Korniewicz.

El Centro leaders will also be looking for synergies with complementary initiatives, such as the six-year, NIH-funded Hispanic Community Health Study. “UM is becoming a national hub for Hispanic health research,” Mitrani says.