ALIADOS: Advanced training in Latino multi-level Intervention reseArch for DOctoral Scholars

PROJECT SUMMARY Latine populations in the U.S. continue to be disproportionately impacted by health disparities, including those related to chronic and infectious diseases. These disparities are the result of long-standing systemic factors including social determinants of health and multi-level factors that contribute to increased risk of disease in the Latine population. Addressing these disparities requires increasing the diversity of researchers by creating opportunities for rigorous and tailored training in cutting-edge Latine health disparities and health equity research, including multilevel prevention interventions and related methodologies. This is a new application in response to the ADVANCE Predoctoral T32 Training Program to Promote Diversity in Health Disparities Research, Prevention Interventions, and Methodology (RFA-OD-23-018). This application proposes a new T32 doctoral training called ALIADOS (Advanced Training in Latine multi-level Intervention reseArch for DOctoral Scholars; ‘aliados’ is a Spanish term for ‘allies’). The ALIADOS program will focus on training diverse doctoral students in Latine health and health disparities and rigorous methods for conducting multilevel-preventive interventions research. While the T32 focuses on Latine health and health disparities, the skills, and competencies the T32 scholars will achieve through the program are transferable to diverse contexts and other populations experiencing health disparities. Thus, the program will have wider reaching benefits to health disparities research more broadly. The overall program goals are to: 1) Identify, recruit, and retain promising T32 doctoral scholars, with an emphasis on underrepresented minority students and those committed to working in Latine health disparities and health equity research, 2) Provide rigorous didactic and hands-on training in Latine health disparities and health equity research, multi-level prevention interventions and statistical methods to a diverse cadre of doctoral students in the Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health at SDSU and UCSD through a comprehensive training program, and 3) Prepare scholars for the successful transition to research independence and promote next steps in their career development.