The mission of The Connecticut Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos(CEHDL) is to contribute to the elimination of health disparities among Latino(a)s through the formation of human resources, community-based research, and culturally appropriate outreach/extension. CEHDL is an EXPORT Center funded by the NIH Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. CEHDL is structured as a consortium led by The University of Connecticut (PI: Rafael Pérez-Escamilla) in close partnership with The Hispanic Health Council (Co-PI: Grace Damio), and Hartford Hospital (Co-PI: Laurine Bow). CEHDL has four cores and coordinates a type 2 diabetes randomized community trial.

The Administrative Core is based at UConn’s Department of Nutritional Sciences with the goal of providing overall coordination and direction to CEHDL. The Center director is advised by an internal and an external advisory board and works in strong partnership with CEHDL’s steering committee, deputy director, and assistant director.

The Research Core is responsible for promoting scientific exchanges in the area of health disparities through a seminar series, an annual conference, interactive workshops, and an annual mini-grant competition.

The Education and Training Core concentrates on the recruitment, retention, and formation of underrepresented minorities in the area of health disparities. This is achieved through high school recruitment, undergraduate and graduate curriculum development, cross-cultural community field experiences, summer stipends, and research assistantships.

The Community Connections Core is based at The Hispanic Health Council and is responsible for developing and testing innovative training, applied research, and outreach partnerships with minority communities.

CEHDL is also conducting a randomized community longitudinal trial at Hartford Hospital examining the impact of home based peer counseling on behavioral, metabolic, and health outcomes among inner-city Latino(a)s with type 2 diabetes. In addition to its scientific contribution toward reducing health disparities, this study serves as a prime mechanism for CEHDL’s training and outreach activities.

For more information please contact Dr. Rafael Pérez-Escamilla at: rafael.perez-escamilla@uconn.edu