Research
ReACH Scholars conduct a wide array of community-partnered research to address the health priorities of underserved populations. Learn about our current projects and partnerships below.
ReACH Projects
Learn more about ReACH funding opportunities
Paths [Senderos]: Building Strength in the Face of Loss
With funding from the National Institutes of Health – National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Luz Garcini, PhD, MPH leads a project to develop webinars that support the emotional health of bereaved individuals in a non-stigmatized, culturally sensitive, and contextually- appropriate manner.
Bringing patients’ perspective to patient decision-making
With funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), ReACH Director, Joel Tsevat MD, MPH and Core Scholar, Erin Finley, PhD, MPH support a project to incorporate patient-reported outcomes into shared decision making with patients living with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Impact and priorities among San Antonio COVID-19 survivors
With funding from the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District and Bexar County Health Collaborative, ReACH scholars will conduct a survey of over 4,000 COVID-19 survivors to better understand their care experience, the impact of disease on their lives, and their priorities for addressing these concerns.
Rural Telementoring Training Center
Waridibo Allison, MD, PhD, leads this HRSA-funded national collaboration to improve rural health care access by providing training, tools, and technical assistance to support the implementation and evaluation of telementoring programs.
Latinx Immigrants: Risk and Resilience
With funding from the American Psychological Association, Luz Garcini PhD, MPH leads a project to understand and evaluate the factors that contribute to and moderate contextual stress of undocumented immigrants
REACH Healthy Neighborhoods
ReACH has partnered with San Antonio Metro Health on a program funded through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to develop and implement culturally responsive interventions for tobacco cessation and community health workforce training.
Proyecto Voces: Latinx mental health & COVID-19
Led by Luz Garcini, PhD, MPH, this project aims to identify relevant mental health needs of underserved Latinx communities in South Texas amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to identify culturally and contextually protective factors, and to identify training needs for Community Health Workers and Promotor/as serving these communities.
Proyecto Voces: Latinx views on COVID-19 testing & vaccination
Luz Garcini, PhD, MPH, leads this project to partner with underserved Latinx communities in South Texas to identify relevant barriers, attitudes, and willingness to COVID-19 testing, preventive steps, as well as vaccination.
Career Development Awards
ReACH is home to an array of exceptional research talent.
Learn more about our scholars who have received career development awards from the National Institutes for Health (NIH).
Acceptance Based Coping skills for support in Diabetes Management
Kathryn Kanzler PsyD, ABPP leads a project to partner with community-based promotores in the development and implementation of a culturally responsive intervention that helps patients manage Type 2 Diabetes.
Binge Eating Spectrum Treatment in Older Women
The BESTOW project, led by Lisa Kilpela PhD, aims to build understanding of how binge eating uniquely impacts older women. As part of this project, Dr. Kilpela and her team will develop and pilot behavioral interventions tailored to this population.
Cardiovascular Disparities among the Bereaved
Luz Garcini PhD, MPH leads a project to understand how bereavement increases the risk for cardiovascular disparities, including detect ethnic disparities and identifying protective factors that may support individuals during this difficult time.
ReACH Collaborations
ReACH staff and faculty foster partnerships across departments with a shared aim of improving community health.
TACKLE HIV/HCV
Targeted Access to Community Knowledge, Linkage to treatment and Education for HIV/HCV in people of color (TACKLE HIV/HCV in people of color) is a multifaceted program to improve prevention, care, treatment and cure of HCV in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in South Texas.
STOP HCC-HCV
The program to Screen, Treat, Or Prevent hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis C virus (STOP HCC-HCV) aims to arrest the burden of liver disease and cancer through community education and training of the primary care workforce to identify, manage, and treat HCV. .
AIDS Education and Training Center
The South Central AIDS Education and Training Center (SCAETC) is the training arm of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a national network of HIV experts who provide locally- based education, clinical consultation, and technical assistance to healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations. Waridibo Allison MD, PhD serves as the director of the UT Health SCAETC, and Raudel Bobadilla MPH, CHW is its program manager.
ReACH/IIMS Population Health Pilot Grants
In partnership with the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS), ReACH provides research grant funding up to $15,000 each year to support projects that aim to improve South Texas health disparities through innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and translational research.
Pilot Grants
- Building an ECHO model to increase awareness and prevention of Chagas Disease in South Texas
- Reaching Rural Population in South Texas through Community Health Worker Delivered- Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support using Connected Health Technology
- Increasing E-Cigarette Awareness and Counseling Among South Texas Dentists, Patients and Communities
- The Impact of Caregiving on the Children of Military Caregivers: An Exploratory Study
Publications
ReACH scholars and staff support critical conversations about population health research through peer-reviewed journals, media appearances, community-based presentations, and conferences. View our Publications for a curated selection of articles and check out our News & Updates to learn about the conversations our team is having with the community.