What is the PR-CCHD?

Committed to the eradication of health disparities associated with HIV/AIDS, the Puerto Rico Comprehensive Center for HIV Disparities (PR-CCHD) has established the operational and research infrastructure necessary for their study. This unique and important initiative marks the first time that Puerto Rico’s three accredited medical schools (the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, the Ponce School of Medicine, and the Central University of the Caribbean, Bayamón) have collaborated in pursuit of a common goal.

Specific Aims

• To foster collaboration among the three accredited medical schools in Puerto Rico, thereby enhancing their clinical and translational research capabilities.
  
• In order to decrease the burden of disease, we hope to develop sustainable, replicable, and culturally appropriate prevention and/or intervention research programs that target the Puerto Rican population.
  
• To develop and validate a series of culturally appropriate instruments to measure diverse variables such as (but not limited to): sociodemographics, HIV risk behaviors, co-morbidities, adherence, stigma, and history of violence and abuse; to make them available to interested investigators and health-care providers.
  
• To enhance the opportunities for multidisciplinary research collaborations between island institutions and those on the US mainland that may have better established research programs.li>
• To further cultivate the already-established mentorship program (The UPR Mentoring Institute for HIV and Mental Health Research), which gives junior investigators access to resources available both locally and on the US mainland. The primary purpose of the Institute is to create a stimulating academic environment that will encourage students to pursue careers in health disparities research, particularly when the focus of that research is HIV/AIDS.