Funded Projects

Goals and Objectives:

This is a proposal to support the creation of an interdisciplinary, multi-center Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) training program with a focus on utilizing a population health and life course health development framework to inform and develop trainees' clinical understanding of the impact of neurodevelopmental disabilities (ND) on individuals and families, so that they may refine their research, clinical, and advocacy efforts and ultimately engage in leadership activities which will improve the care of and outcomes for individuals with ND over the lifespan. Unique features of our proposed University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)-University of California, Riverside (UCR) LEND program include: 1. A collaboration between two major academic institutions, UCLA and UCR; 2. Addressing the health disparities and needs of individuals with ND in Inland Southern California, a widely-recognized impoverished area of the state and designated Medically Underserved Area (MUA); 3. Incorporation of adult-focused trainees (i.e., internal medicine, adult psychiatry) so as to address the changing needs of individuals with ND across the lifespan; 4. Identification of primary care trainees, in addition to other health and allied health trainees, in order to increase the capacity of front-line health care providers and overcome access to care issues. We identified the following goals to help us achieve our aim: Goal 1: Develop an interdisciplinary multi-center LEND training program to improve the ND knowledge, attitudes, skills, and community partnerships needed by primary care providers, specialists and other professionals to ensure the health of individuals with ND. Goal 2: Identify long-, medium- and short-term trainees for the UCLA-UCR LEND program. Goal 3: Develop the curriculum for UCLA-UCR LEND long-term trainees. Goal 4: Develop the curriculum for UCLA-UCR LEND medium-term trainees. Goal 5: Develop the curriculum for UCLA-UCR LEND short-term trainees through continuing education and distance learning. Goal 6: Provide technical assistance and professional consultation. Goal 7: Increase collaborations and outreach with other entities that can strengthen our ability to support and mentor our LEND trainees. We have assembled a team with major collaborating partners from the UCLA Departments of Psychology, Social Welfare, Health Policy and Management, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine, as well as the UCR Departments of Education and Psychiatry. We envision a LEND program that will actively engage high quality trainees from multiple disciplines in order to address all three goals of the LEND program (i.e., (i) provide interdisciplinary training to graduate/doctoral/ postdoctoral students, (ii) increase the number of trained providers who can diagnose and treat ND, and (iii) enhance the expertise and leadership of professionals and families).