Research Projects
ERIC examines research questions with clear policy implication and relevance, partnering with stakeholders and end-users early in the research design process to ensure there is a meaningful plan for translation of the research findings into policy change. Interdisciplinary teams are a hallmark of our research and we utilize a range of methodologies to conduct cutting edge research.
Our three primary pillars of research expertise include:
- global health disparities,
- patient experiences of care, and
- healthcare workforce diversity and inclusion.
- Global Health Disparities
- Patient Experiences of Care
- Diversity and Inclusion
Pillar Goal:
Collecting and contributing scientific and epidemiological evidence to regional policy challenges faced by low and middle resource settings in the face of a global epidemic of chronic disease.
Dr. Nunez-Smith leads and is the sole PI on a multi-million dollar U24 cooperative agreement from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to establish the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN). Now in Year 3 of the initial 5-year study period, she created a de novo collaboration between Yale School of Medicine and academic health institutions across four Caribbean island sites to conduct original global health disparities research on chronic disease in the region.
This effort is one-of-a-kind in its design and Dr. Nunez-Smith is one of only a few researchers working in this region. ECHORN can be briefly described as the “Framingham of the Caribbean” and has established an infrastructure to support future intervention and epidemiologic research that can be expanded to other island sites within the region. She, and ECHORN, partner with the World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO/PAHEF) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as well as all site Ministries of Health or equivalent to promote translation of the collected data into policy.