The vision of the LAHDR Center is to become a focal point for interdisciplinary research on health behavior change at the University of Texas at El Paso. The primary mission of the LAHDR is to promote research, training and dissemination of evidence-based brief interventions based on Motivational Interviewing to promote healthy behavior change among Hispanics on the U.S.-Mexico Border. First, the
LAHDR will catalyze interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research collaborations by building upon existing research of Brief Motivational Interventions to reduce alcohol related health disparities. Second, the LAHDR Center is dedicated to establishing interdisciplinary collaborations to advance rigorously designed research and evaluation on Brief Motivational Interventions. Health behavior change counseling has been effectively used by a wide variety of healthcare professionals to promote the self-management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma. The LAHDR Center will foster cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop expertise in the application of health behavior change counseling to a wide variety of health problems that disproportionately affect Hispanics on the U.S.-Mexico Border. The LAHDR Center will also provide training and mentoring to the next generation of health behavior researchers through graduate training and faculty mentoring. Third, the LAHDR Center is committed to enhancing dissemination of health behavior change counseling to community agencies invested in the reduction of health disparities among Hispanics on the U.S.-Mexico Border. The LAHDR Center will actively engage in the implementation and evaluation of health behavior interventions based on Motivational Interviewing to non-academic, community partners. The LAHDR Center will also engage in the dissemination of research strategies and findings to community stakeholders and scientific partners at conferences, meetings and seminars.
