Title: Programs
 
 
     
 

 

Community Outreach Intervention Projects (COIP)

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The Community Outreach Intervention Projects (“COIP”), School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago was founded in 1986 to address HIV/AIDS, particularly among people who use drugs. COIP operates from storefront sites in Austin, Humboldt Park, West Englewood, South Chicago, and Uptown. Other neighborhoods are served by COIP’s motorhome and mobile van units. COIP’s interventions are known for their use of the Indigenous Leader Outreach Model, which employs former drug users to deliver services and assist in conducting research.

COIP’s services include street outreach, counseling and testing for HIV, syphilis and other infectious diseases associated with substance use, case management for people who are HIV positive, syringe exchange, drug abuse and risk reduction counseling, support groups, educational activities, and a program that enhances linkages to care for HIV positive women exiting jail. COIP also makes many referrals to other providers such as drug treatment programs. Through a collaboration with UIC’s Community Clinic Network, all COIP’s storefront sites provide free medical, mental health and pharmacy care for people living with HIV, and one site offers free dental care.

COIP also conducts research to better understand HIV/AIDS in Chicago communities. Recent studies have examined or evaluated 1) an intervention to prevent hepatitis C transmission among young people who inject drugs, 2) mental health problems and their relation to HIV risk behaviors among young people who inject drugs, 3) transitions into drug injection by young people who ‘snort’ heroin 4) the impact of syringe exchange on preventing HIV infection, 5) early stage hepatitis C infection and treatment, 6) an intervention that engages the parents of young injection drug users to help their children reduce the risk of HIV infection, and 7) the sexual transmission of HIV in metropolitan Chicago among and between injection drug users, substance-using men who have sex with men, and the sex partners of both groups.

COIP has conducted trainings in over 30 states, Canada, Australia, and in countries in South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. A manual documenting COIP’s intervention methods was commissioned and published by the National Institutes of Health. When the Congressional Black and Latino Caucuses developed an initiative in the late 1990s to deliver proven HIV prevention interventions to high-risk communities of color in the US, COIP’s Indigenous Leader Outreach Model was the intervention model chosen by 85% of the newly funded programs. COIP has been cited as a model program by, the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a Carnegie Foundation commission, and the Chicago Department of Public Health.

  • Number of people receiving direct services in 2007: over 4500
  • Whereas HIV prevalence among injection drug users in Chicago was about 25% in 1988, our research indicates HIV prevalence in this population has fallen to about 7%.
  • Whereas the rate of new HIV infections among injection drug users was almost 10 per 100 per years in 1989, our research indicates that this rate has declined to about 0.6 per 100 per years.
  • Young injection drug users participating in a risk reduction intervention exhibited a 79% decline in risky injection practices and a 35% decline in sexual risk practices.
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Visit the COIP website for additional information at www.coip.org.

 

Institute on Disability and Human Development

The Institute on Disability and Human Development (DHD) in the College of Applied Health Sciences provides interdisciplinary training and field experience in disability and related aspects of human development. DHD, which is closely affiliated with the School of Public Health through joint faculty appointments, offers master's-level students the knowledge and skills needed to serve as leadership personnel in community-based programs serving persons with disabilities. It also provides opportunities for students seeking PhD-level training to become immersed in a richly textured research and academic setting. Coursework and guided study allow in-depth examination of public policy aspects of disability in American society and disability in the context of the U.S. health care system. Qualified students have the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a broad variety of research, clinical, and community service programs carried out within DHD.

While DHD has historically been strong in mental retardation and developmental disabilities, current projects are broadly cross-disability. Forty-five externally funded projects are underway in areas including the Americans with Disabilities Act, assistive technology, health promotion, family adaptation to disability, disabled women's health, the changing demography of disability, empowering people with disabilities, the economics of disability, aging and disability, and a number of related areas. DHD faculty members teach courses in the School of Public Health, the College of Applied Health Sciences, the Department of Psychology, and the Jane Addams College of Social Work. Students may combine a specialization in disability with a concentration in areas such as maternal and child health, gerontology, or health promotion and education. Courses in this topic area are CHSC 421 Family Perspectives on Disability, CHSC 464 Survey of Developmental Disabilities, and CHSC 564 Community Integration in Developmental Disabilities. Additional courses are available through DHD. Numerous graduate assistantships are available for DHD students pursuing careers in disability and human development.

For further information, contact Tamar Heller, PhD, Professor of Human Development and Community Health Sciences and Head, Department of Disability and Human Development, at 312-413-1647.

 

Chicago Project for Violence Prevention

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The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention was formed in 1995 as a strategic public health initiative to support accelerated community-based and citywide violence prevention. The Chicago Project partners with community-based organizations that take the lead in developing comprehensive strategic plans to reduce violence. An advisory board and steering committee comprised of criminal justice, health, religious, and civic leaders provide support to develop strategies and leverage city and county resources for the project and its partners. The project is a national demonstration project supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, The Chicago Community Trust, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The LaSalle Adams Fund, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Michael Reese Health Trust, The Field Foundation of Illinois, the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, The Smart Family Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the UIC School of Public Health.

The mission of the Chicago Project is to work with its community, city, and county partners in order to reduce violence in all forms. This includes youth violence, gang violence, family and partner violence, elder and child abuse, and sexual assault. The project accomplishes this mission by:

  • helping develop comprehensive violence reduction plans in high-risk neighborhoods
  • assisting community-based organizations in monitoring and evaluating progress
  • facilitating a steering committee for community, city, county, state, and federal cooperation and strategy development
  • providing information and training in best practices, prevention technology, and management
  • focusing key agency attention on gaps in resources and implementation.

The project offers students valuable training and experience in the areas of community-based prevention planning, evaluation methods and practice, building public health collaborations, and research into best practices. Internships and independent study are both available.

For further information, contact Gary Slutkin, MD, Director, The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention, at 312-996-8775.



Community Asthma Prevention Program

UIC's Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) was formed in 1998 to respond to a high rate of asthma hospitalization and mortality in low-income and African-American Chicago neighborhoods. Asthma prevalence in Chicago is high, with 13 percent of Head Start children and 16 percent of Chicago seventh and eighth grade students having been diagnosed with the disease. Rates of hospitalization and mortality are significantly higher in low-income and African-American neighborhoods, suggesting that other factors, such as reduced access to health care, are affecting the differential mortality rates. A community-based peer educator program has been developed and is aimed at decreasing risk factors for asthma. In the program, parents of inner-city, asthmatic children are hired and trained to make a series of home visits to modify the home environments of other families with asthmatic children. A randomized trial (funded by the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute) to examine the effects of the peer educator program on indoor allergens has been completed. Currently funded trials include an examination of the effectiveness of the peer educator program on asthma morbidity in the Chicago Public Schools (funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation), an examination of the effectiveness of peer education on asthma in residents of Chicago Housing Authority developments (funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), and a more extensive trial (also funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) to examine the effects of the peer educator program on the development of wheezing and the development of the immune system in children of pregnant women who are at risk for having children with asthma. The goals of the project are to increase understanding of the dynamic process by which asthma develops in children, identify modifiable risk factors, and demonstrate the effectiveness of intervention strategies that target the needs of underserved populations. In addition, CAPP is working with the Chicago Public Schools on two grants funded by the Chicago Community Trust to examine the indoor environment of selected schools. In collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Chicago Housing Authority, the Chicago Public Schools, the Health Care Consortium of Illinois, Mobile C.A.R.E Foundation, the Grand Boulevard Federation, the University of Chicago, Access Community Health Network, Lawndale Christian Health Center, and the Chicago Asthma Consortium, CAPP was recently funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a program to reduce asthma morbidity in Region 4 of the Chicago Public Schools.

Opportunities are available for a limited number of students to participate in CAPP. For further information, contact Victoria Persky, MD, Director, Community Asthma Prevention Program, at 312-996-4783.



Air Pollution Training Institute

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.E.P.A.) operates a network of centers and institutes at universities throughout the U.S. that provide professional training experiences for air pollution control professionals. The Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Division has operated one of these centers/institutes for fourteen years. The purpose of the institute is to assist state and local air pollution control agencies in the acquisition of professional-level skills needed for effective conduct of air pollution abatement programs. The program is carried out using one of three types of training: conventional academic training, intensive short course instruction, and special seminars and short courses on the U.S.E.P.A.'s Distance Learning Network. Conventional academic training offers instruction in air pollution control science and related subjects as required for professional training of air pollution abatement practitioners. Academic training supports students in academic programs leading to the Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science (MS) in public health degrees. Short courses and distance learning seminars are scheduled throughout the year.

For further information about this program, contact Peter Scheff, PhD, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Division, at 312-996-0800.

 

Quantitative Methods Support Core for Biomedical Researchers

The mission of the Quantitative Methods Support Core for Biomedical Researchers is to provide biostatistical, epidemiological, and data management support throughout the research process and particularly at the proposal-writing stage. Established in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division in 1999, the core identifies and addresses gaps in the methodological expertise on campus that is needed to conduct biomedical research. It supports the Health Science Deans' Council goal of increasing the number of externally funded biomedical research projects undertaken at UIC, and develops related workshops and short courses on the research process for faculty and staff. Faculty from all campus units are encouraged to avail themselves of the core's resources.

Opportunities occasionally become available for a limited number of students to participate in core projects. For further information, contact Paul S. Levy, ScD, interim director, Quantitative Methods Support Core for Biomedical Researchers, at quantcor@uic.edu, or visit the website at http://www.uic.edu/sph/quantcore/.

 
 



The UIC AIDS International Training & Research Program

The AIDS International Training & Research Program (AITRP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is funded through the John E. Fogarty International Center, which is the international training arm of the National Institutes of Health. The UIC AITRP is designed to build long-term scientific capacities that help to address the AIDS epidemic in Chile, Indonesia, and Malawi. The AITRP is a collaborative effort of the UIC School of Public Health, the UIC College of Nursing, the Great Lakes Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) at Northwestern University, and key institutional participants in the three participating countries. The collaborating partners overseas are: The Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, the Kamuzu College of Nursing at the University of Malawi, the Center for Health Research at the University of Indonesia, the School of Nursing at the University of Indonesia, and Family Health International in Indonesia. The AITRP is designed to provide biomedical and behavioral science training in HIV/AIDS prevention at the MS, PhD, and post-doctoral levels at UIC for students and practicing professionals from the three participating countries. The program also sponsors short-term "in-country" AIDS research training for U.S. minority scholars and helps to foster cooperative scientific relationships between the program's collaborating countries, UIC, and the Great Lakes CFAR. The program focuses on Indonesia, Malawi, and Chile as training sites because of the gravity of the AIDS epidemic in each area, the need for clinical and behavioral science research to meet this increasing problem, and the presence of existing collaborative relationships upon which to build and sustain a research infrastructure in each country.

For further information, contact Judith A. Levy, PhD, Director, AIDS International Training & Research Program, at 312-996-7825, or Beverly McElmurry, EdD, RN, FAAN, Co-Director, at 312-996-3035, or view AITRP's website at http://www.uic.edu/sph/AITRP.

  
 

 

UIC Health Professional Partnership Initiative

The UIC School of Public Health has developed the Health Professional Partnership Initiative (HPPI) in collaboration with the Early Outreach Program of the UIC College of Education, the Illinois Area Health Education Center, and ten Chicago Public Schools. As part of a national initiative by the Association of Schools of Public Health, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve the diversity of the health care workforce, HPPI's purpose is to create a K-12 and post-secondary public health education pipeline that will increase the number of master's and doctoral degrees achieved by students from groups underrepresented in the health care professions. Such diversity is necessary given rapidly changing demographics. It is also aimed at contributing to the elimination of disparities between the health of minorities and non-minorities.

The program will follow a cohort of students from participating schools for a period of five to ten years. During this time, the project will increase the visibility of public health and public health career options among students; provide services that will increase the performance of students in reading, mathematics, and sciences; support science and mathematics fairs; develop bridge programs for students transitioning between grammar school and high school and between high school and college; work to increase the participation of students in UIC's Guaranteed Professional Program Admissions Initiative; provide SAT/ACT skills-building training; provide paid summer-enrichment programs; provide a public health speakers' bureau for schools; and conduct teacher in-services on public health for counselors and teachers of science and mathematics to enhance their knowledge of the field. Public school teachers receive lane credit for participation.

For further information, contact Shaffdeen A. Amuwo, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Community, Government, and Alumni Affairs, at 312-996-5955.

 

Institute for Environmental Science and Policy

The Institute for Environmental Science and Policy (IESP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago was founded to advance multidisciplinary research and scholarship within the environmental and health sciences, engineering, economics, and the social sciences among UIC's faculty and students, to prepare the next generation of environmental scientists and decision-makers, and to transmit workable solutions for environmental problems to the public sector. IESP's core theme is to advance understanding of the relationship between anthropogenic impacts and environmental health. Programs developed by IESP focus on: facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration among scholars to develop new paradigms of inquiry that address and define environmental research priorities; gathering together multidisciplinary teams of scholars and counterparts in the public and private sectors to devise workable solutions for today's complex environmental challenges; and preparing the next generation of environmental scholars, scientists, and decision-makers through cross-disciplinary education to gain an understanding of the interrelated roles that science, technology, economics, and government policy play in environmental issues.

IESP's core faculty is appointed jointly with various departments on campus to lead IESP research initiatives. In addition, IESP offers faculty scholarships, doctoral fellowships, and an open seminar program. IESP sponsors a variety of campus programs to enrich and inform discussion on the environment, including UIC's Conference on the Environment, Earth Month activities, and joint seminars.

For further information, contact Thomas L. Theis, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, at 312-996-1081 or Maggie Jameson, Assistant to the Director, at 312-996-1081, or view the IESP website at http://www.iesp.uic.edu.

  
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