UAMS Joins NIH Effort, Receives $506K to Increase Rural Health Research

(UAMS)

UAMS has joined a network of institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand research in rural primary care clinics.

Through the NIH CARE for Health initiative, UAMS will help lead research to address health disparities in Arkansas’ rural areas. UAMS, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Mississippi together make up HEART-NET (Health Equity through Access and Research in Transformative Networks), a network research hub focused on primary care research in the South.

The HEART-NET group joined the CARE for Health network in January and received a one-year grant totaling $1.33 million. UAMS’ share of the award is $506,739, a portion of which will be used to support a national weight loss study. Dr. Laura James, director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute, is the program’s principal investigator.

“Being selected for the CARE for Health initiative underscores UAMS’ leadership in rural health research,” James said in a press release. She is also UAMS’ associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational research.

CARE for Health, funded by the NIH Common Fund, supports original projects within its hub institutions as well as existing NIH-funded projects that serve its mission. The first project UAMS will contribute to is the ongoing multi-institutional iREACH study, a digital weight loss intervention designed to improve obesity outcomes for people living in rural areas.

The release from UAMS stated that obesity and related chronic diseases disproportionately affect rural populations, where access to weight management programs is often limited. iREACH aims to close this gap by delivering a 24-week interactive digital program tailored to the needs of rural residents.

UAMS will recruit participants for iREACH from the UAMS North Central Regional Campus in Batesville and the UAMS South Regional Campus in El Dorado to connect with patients in underserved areas. Dr. Shashank Kraleti, the Garnett Chair of Family and Preventive Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine, is leading the iREACH study for UAMS.

“The iREACH study is an innovative approach to combating obesity in rural areas, and we are honored to work with national partners to advance this critical work,” Kraleti said in the press release. “By leveraging our rural UAMS family medicine clinics, we can directly impact patients who face significant barriers to traditional care.”

iREACH will focus on improving the effectiveness of digital weight loss programs by incorporating personalized, “high-touch” elements such as facilitated group video sessions, counselor-crafted feedback and individual coaching.

The study will recruit 616 participants nationwide, with a focus on delivering long-term results and informing national best practices for digital behavioral weight-loss interventions.

“The results of iREACH could transform how we approach obesity treatment, particularly in rural areas,” Kraleti said in the release. “This research will provide a scalable model for weight control while addressing one of our nation’s most pressing public health challenges.”

James said in the release that by collaborating with physicians and community members as part of the CARE for Health program, UAMS will continue to identify and pursue research opportunities that address the “unique health needs” of Arkansas’ rural populations.