Vision

Advancement of research on and assessment of the Hispanic population toward the elimination of Hispanic health disparities in the U.S.-Mexico border region and the U.S. as a whole.

 

Mission

To provide research and capacity building services to agencies and academics interested in the rapidly growing, under-researched Hispanic population with the goal of improving the health and economic development of Hispanic residents living in the border region and across the U.S.   

 

 Goals:

  1. Offer research expertise and capabilities to local, state, and federal service agencies to assist them in the development and evaluation of programs.

  2. Increase research infrastructure for local experts/scientists toward the accomplishment of their research goals.

  3. Identify problem areas on the border, assess disparities and develop research guided solutions.

  4. Promote culturally sensitive approaches to research, which accurately define health and other characteristics in the Hispanic population.

 

The US-Mexico border spans a distance of over 2000 miles and stretches along a total of ten states. The four states on the U.S. side of the border, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, host an ever-evolving population. This broad range of bi-national maturation makes for compelling study along several dimensions, including socio-economic, lifestyle behaviors, acculturation and social environment, and access to preventative health care services.

The US-Mexico border region boasts of a young and fast growing population consisting largely of Hispanics. Given the international aspect of life on the border and the fact that such proximity creates environmental, educational and health challenges not common to other parts of the United States, the border Southwest region is in itself a laboratory setting with fertile research opportunities. Although Hispanics suffer from many socio-economic and health disparities (e.g., disease, disabilities, death), research on this population is severely lagging.

Border Research Solutions (BRS) is strategically located—geographically and demographically—to assess the unique health and socioeconomic issues created by the convergence of two nations (U.S. and Mexico). As natives to the U.S.-Mexico border, the BRS staff possesses a first hand understanding of this unique region and can contribute insights that will optimize research design and outcomes. BRS is also sensitive to the dynamic socio-cultural aspects that this bi-national co-existence yields.