FAU's College of Business Receives NIH Grant to Study Electronic Health Records

Researchers within Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business received a $437,274 research grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the use of electronic health records in underserved communities.

The funded project, “Use of Electronic Health Records in Underserved Communities in Florida,” will look at the rate of meaningful use of electronic health records in areas with a high concentration of low-income residents, areas with racial minorities, as well as rural areas and inner cities to see if those rates are lagging and what the cause might be. 

The National Institutes of Health - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) awarded the grant to principal investigator Pierre Alexandre, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the health administration program in the College of Business.

“This grant is a wonderful opportunity to be able to train students in biomedical research and is a testament to the strength of our programs,” Alexandre said. “We are on the front lines of training students in terms of career opportunities in things such as data analytics to set them apart.”

It will fund the research of three students for a period of three years. Undergraduate students Annelise Bontemps Verret, Anjali Kamath and graduate student Ana Munoz Jaramillo are the student recipients.

The grant is expected to last from 2023-2026 through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

“We are making an impact in ensuring that those in underserved communities are offered what they need an terms of healthcare, providing policy makers with insights about the challenges of adopting electronic health records and making sure the digital divide doesn’t continue,” said Judy Monestime, co-principal investigator and instructor in the College of Business.

REAP grants support small-scale research projects at various educational institutions that offer bachelor’s or advanced degrees for research scientists, but have not received NIH support. It seeks to support exemplary research, introduce students to research and to bolster the research environment of the institution.

-FAU-