June 25, 2024 - by Lindsay Hess As research seeks new knowledge to advance community health, a new fleet of specialized vehicles has hit the streets to ensure that the needs of Texans, especially those in rural areas, are understood. A fleet of four Mobile Health Assessment Centers from the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture , IHA, aims to put the functions of a brick-and-mortar research study center on wheels with these specially designed vehicles. The mobile centers reduce obstacles to participation in scientific studies by bringing research capabilities into communities that might otherwise miss out.
Equipped with clinical assessment space, an exam room, phlebotomy stations, lab counters and indoor/outdoor kitchens, these vehicles can travel statewide, and even beyond, allowing for a broad data collection. This ensures a thorough understanding of rural populations’ complex health challenges and fosters new collaborations. The mobile centers have been put to work in advancing community health through a joint collaboration between the IHA and the Change Club .
Funded by the National Institutes of Health , Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, Ph.D., assistant director for Healthy Living at the IHA, is leading this community-based civic engagement project in New York and Texas.
The project examined how positive changes in food and physical activity-built environments led by local resident groups affect cardiovascular disease risk factors such as diet, ex.