Past Projects
Below is a list of past projects that took place at through UCC and the community. If you have any questions regarding past projects, please contact Shary Perez, Health Research Program Director, at sperez@unitedcc.org or at (414) 389-3100, ext. 4730.
All of US
Collaborating with UW-Madison/School of Medicine and Public Health and Medical College of Wisconsin in a nationwide health project related to the Precision Medicine Initiative of the National Institute of Health, by helping to raise awareness, engagement and recruitment of Latinos into this high level effort to establish a nationwide health database of 1 million people to enable future development of precision medicine.
Alzheimer's Care Management in Minority Groups
In collaboration with Dr. Melinda Kavanaugh from UW-Milwaukee in a NIH-funded project (National Institute of Health), we are studying the impact of dementia on family caregivers and crisis points that lead to external formal care services for their family member. The goal is to develop a future guide to help reduce or prevent crisis situations and prolong the support provided by family members of persons with dementia.
Avazando Juntas
In collaboration with Dr. Melinda Stolley from the Medical College of Wisconsin, we are facilitating a study with Latino female cancer survivors receiving community-based interventions of health education, nutrition education and physical activities in a supportive group model to determine if this level of support can produce better health outcomes.
Diabetes Management - FINANCE DM
In collaboration with Dr. Leonard Egede from the Medical College of Wisconsin, this research study is evaluating if financial incentives combined with nurse-coaching will improve self-management of diabetes among adults.
HOME Diabetes Management
In collaboration with Dr. Leonard Egede from the Medical College of Wisconsin, this research study evaluates how group sessions will lead to behavioral changes in diabetes in diabetes management among Latino elders (55+) with type 2 Diabetes.
Breast Cancer, Race and Place
In collaboration with Dr. Kristen Beyer from the Medical College of Wisconsin, we are providing guidance and assistance in studying how social factors of racial and residential segregation impact the health outcomes of Latino women with a history of breast cancer.
Familias Sanas 2015-2016
A child/parent/school intervention program teaching Latino parents of children with ADHD a culturally-based behavior management program to improve educational and family functioning outcomes, utilizing a comparative group model lead by Dr. Alyson Gerdes, Marquette University. This program was provided by Marquette University and UCC, and the project was funded by a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- Bilingual Community-Based Chronic Care Project, 2005–2008
- Milwaukee Food and Fitness Initiative, 2007–2008
- Chronic Disease Self-Management Program - Tomando Control de su Salud, 2007–2009
- Latino Geriatric Center, 2007–2010
- HAPPY - Healthier Activities Partnership for Youth, 2010–2012
- Breast Cancer Prevention for Latinas in Milwaukee, 2010–2012
- H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Targeting Underserved Populations, 2010
- Developing a Novel Intervention to Improve Diabetes-Related Health Literacy for Wisconsin Latinos, 2011–2013
- Comprando Rico y Sano, 2012
- Selección Sana, Vida Saludable, 2012
Fortaleciendo Puentes: A Continuum of Community Dementia Care for Latinos
In collaboration with UW-Milwaukee, Alzheimer's Association, and Milwaukee County Department of Aging, in a federally funded project from the Administration on Community Living, we aim to design, deliver and evaluate strategies that improve earlier diagnosis and treatment, and to improve care and support to Latinos impacted by dementia and by intellectual/developmental disabilities with cognitive impairments. New strategies include a mobile memory clinic, staff training, community outreach and education, and family caregiver education and training, including for youth helping to care for a family member with dementia.
Healthier Activities Partnership Program for Youth II (Happy II) 2013-2016
This was a school-based program and research study targeting the health behaviors of Latino middle-school aged children, to educate about and reduce obesity risk, in collaboration with Samuel Dennis, Ph.D./ UW-Madison This project was funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the University of Wisconsin-School of Medicine and Public Health.
Los Cuidadores Latinos Unidos
A pilot supportive intervention for family caregivers of for family members with Alzheimer's disease to help caregivers learn behavior activation and problem solving skills as effective coping strategies to reduce stress and depression, in collaboration with Zeno Franco, Ph. D./MCW. This project was funded wholly or in part by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, a component of the Advancing a healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and by the Retirement Research Foundation.
Mobile Tele-Eye Health (mTEH) 2016-2018
The goal of this project was to preserve vision in a high-risk population by implementing mobile tele-medicine technology to increase retinopathy screening and facilitate improved eye care, in partnership with the City of Milwaukee Health Department, Carroll University, Marquette University, and the Medical College of Wisconsin (Judy Kim, MD). This project was funded in part by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Opening Doors to Community Research-Reducing Barriers to Community Participation in Research (2015-2017)
This project yielded a IRB approved alternative human subjects training curriculum that allowed the community-academic partners of any community-based project to deliver a training program for their staff, satisfying IRB requirements in lieu of the time-consuming and academically based CITI training. This project was done in partnership with the Ryan Spellecy, Ph.D./Medical College of Wisconsin and the MCW Institutional Review Board, and was funded by the Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Pisando Fuerte
In collaboration with Dr. Maria Mora Pinzon from UW-Madison/School of Medicine and Public Health, we are working to adapt and test a Spanish version of an evidence-based falls prevention program (Stepping On) for Spanish-speaking Latino older adults and, developing internal capacity for a Pisando Fuerte master trainer.
Tele-Eye Health Collaborative
In collaboration with Dr. Judy Kim from the Medical College of Wisconsin/ Eye Institute, Milwaukee Health Department and Marquette University, we are participating in coalition-led efforts ti reduce eye diseases and vision loss among diabetic population in under-served areas with high prevalence of diabetes through expanded use of tele-medicine strategies and conducting a community needs assessment about eye health and barriers to preventive care in under-served areas of Milwaukee.
Research Ambassador for University of Wisconsin-Madison
In collaboration with the Center for Health Care Equity/ Institute for Community Translational Research from UW-Madison, a Health Research Ambassador position is imbedded in UCC to serve as a liaison and support to UW researchers and the Latino community, with the aim to expand community engaged health research opportunities of mutual benefit.
SHOW (Survey on the Health of Wisconsin)
We are assisting UW-Madison in its statewide health survey in order to facilitate effective recruitment of Latinos in greater Milwaukee in this valuable survey.
Teleopthalmology to Improve Eye Health Among Latinos (TIEHL) 2014-2015
Developed and tested the feasibility of a community-based tele-opthalmology program at UCC, using bilingual non-medical personnel to conduct eye screenings and eye health education about diabetes and related eye disease along with telemedicine technology to diagnose eye diseases, in collaboration with the Eye Institute/Medical College of Wisconsin (Judy Kim, MD). This project was funded by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.