UAMS joins NIH effort to increase Rural Health Research

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has joined a network of institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand research in rural primary care clinics.

Through the NIH CARE for Health™ initiative, UAMS will help lead innovative research to address health disparities in Arkansas’ rural areas. UAMS, the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB), and the University of Mississippi together make up HEART-NET (Health Equity through Access and Research in Transformative Networks), a network research hub focused on primary care research in the South.

The HEART-NET group joined the NIH CARE for Health™ network in January. The inaugural group of CARE for Health™ institutions was announced in September 2024 and is led by Oregon Health and Science University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and West Virginia University.

The HEART-NET consortium has received a one-year grant totaling $1.33 million. UAMS’ share of the award is $506,739, a portion of which will be used to support a national weight loss study. Laura James, M.D., director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute, is the UAMS CARE for Health™ program principal investigator.

“Being selected for the CARE for Health™ initiative underscores UAMS’ leadership in rural health research,” said James, also UAMS associate vice chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research.

CARE for Health™, funded by the NIH Common Fund, supports original projects within its hub institutions as well as existing NIH-funded projects that serve its mission. The first such funded project to which UAMS will contribute is the ongoing multi-institutional iREACH study, a digital weight loss intervention designed to improve obesity outcomes for people living in rural areas.

UAMS will recruit participants for iREACH from the UAMS North Central Regional Campus in Batesville and the UAMS South Regional Campus in El Dorado, leveraging its UAMS Rural Research Network to connect with patients in underserved areas. The study aligns closely with the Translational Research Institute’s priority for increasing rural health research capacity in Arkansas through collaborations with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Institute for Community Health Innovation, UAMS Regional Campuses and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Shashank Kraleti, M.D., the Garnett Chair of Family and Preventive Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine, is leading the iREACH study for UAMS.

“The iREACH study is an innovative approach to combating obesity in rural areas, and we are honored to work with national partners to advance this critical work,” Kraleti said. “By leveraging our rural UAMS family medicine clinics, we can directly impact patients who face significant barriers to traditional care.”

The weight loss study is led by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with the University of Virginia. UAB, like UAMS, is using a portion of its CARE for Health™ funding to help recruit participants for the study. iREACH will focus on improving the effectiveness of digital weight loss programs by incorporating personalized, “high-touch” elements such as facilitated group video sessions, counselor-crafted feedback and individual coaching.

Obesity and related chronic diseases disproportionately affect rural populations, where access to weight management programs is often limited. iREACH aims to close this gap by delivering a 24-week interactive digital program tailored to the needs of rural residents.

“The CARE for Health™ initiative exemplifies the power of academic and community partnerships in addressing health disparities,” said Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, director of the Institute for Community Health Innovation. “Our goal is to create sustainable, scalable programs that benefit our patients and communities.”

The iREACH study will recruit 616 participants nationwide, with a focus on delivering long-term results and informing national best practices for digital behavioral weight-loss interventions.

“The results of iREACH could transform how we approach obesity treatment, particularly in rural areas,” Kraleti said. “This research will provide a scalable model for weight control while addressing one of our nation’s most pressing public health challenges.”