Fifteen Years of Progress in Measurement and Methods at the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research

Abstract

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Health Disparities Strategic Plan (2009-2013) for reducing racial/ethnic health disparities in our aging population includes (a) efforts to explore aging as a web of genetic, biochemical, physiological, economic, social, and psychological factors; (b) provision of resources to promote high-quality research to reduce health disparities; and (c) training of a diverse investigator workforce to conduct aging and health disparities research. The Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) program is a critical mechanism toward achievement of these goals, and was one of the first coordinated efforts to create a research infrastructure toward that end. NIA established the RCMARs in 1997, with support from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD). The overall RCMAR mission is to “improve the health and well being of older minority populations by identifying mechanisms for reducing health disparities.” The primary mechanism for this is investigator development, that is training and career development of minority investigators. The RCMAR effort has also funded Measurement and Methods Cores (MMCs) because conducting minority aging research requires use of appropriate and specialized methods and measures. The MMCs support the RCMAR mission and NIA priorities by developing and testing specific measures appropriate for research in ethnically diverse older populations, providing methodological training to investigators interested in conducting minority aging research, developing and refining specialized methods, and disseminating culturally appropriate measures and methods broadly.