Grant award announcement from the Poverty and Inequality Transdisciplinary Working Group (PI-TWG)
Binghamton University researchers to look at life challenges facing those living in poverty, including the opioid crisis, access to life-saving medication and gender equality.
The Poverty and Inequality Transdisciplinary Working Group (PI-TWG) steering committee announces three award proposals made to the Binghamton University research community:
1. “Healthcare analytics and policy design for prevention of prescription opioid abuse among non-traumatic dental condition visits to emergency departments”
Investigators: Nasim Sabounchi, assistant professor, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering; A. Serdar Atav, professor, Decker School of Nursing; Shabnam Sabounchi, doctoral student, College of Communityand Public Affairs (CCPA)
The number of opioid prescriptions has risen considerably, from 75.5 million in 1991 to 209.5 million in 2010. Sixty percent of drug overdose deaths in emergency departments are related to an opioid. Emergency departments (EDs) have been recognized as important contributors to the increasing trend of pain medications, and nearly 43 percent of ED patient visits are because of pain problems.
Recent studies have also reported an increase in ED visits for dental conditions, as well as a considerable rise in the prescription of opioids in EDs for non-traumatic dental patient visits between 1997 and 2014. Recent studies have shown that mortality rates related to opioid overdose is higher among those who live in rural areas and also those of lower socioeconomic status (SES).
2. “Scaling up the GHI index for measuring access to essential, life-saving medicines”
Investigators: Nicole Hassoun, associate professor, Department of Philosophy; Zhongfei (Mark) Zhang, professor, Department of Computer Science; Leon Cosler, founding chair, health outcomes and administrative sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
In partnership with the Global Health Impact Organization (GHI) the researchers will evaluate the health consequences of medications, particularly for epidemic diseases such as
tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and malaria that impact low-income communities, both locally and around the globe, helping to advance access to essential medicines.
The researchers will scale up their current model and develop new models for two neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), lymphatic filariasis and schistosomiasis, thereby expanding the current GHI index for measuring access to essential, life-saving medicines.
3. “First student conference on poverty and inequality”
Organizer: Dinesh Sharma, associate research professor, Department of Human Development and Institute of Global Cultural Studies (IGCS), Binghamton University; students from across the Binghamton University Campus
The United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals for 2030 (SDG 2030) include the following four (of 10) SDGs: (1) no poverty, (2) zero hunger, (5) gender equality and (10) reduced inequality. Students will examine these goals in detail as well as the classic literature on economic development. They will present the critique of neoliberal development theories as applied to developing and underdeveloped societies in the context of globalization.
Conference participants (keynote speakers, panelists, faculty, SUNY students/regional, general public) will then propose and examine new ideas about sustainable human development as guiding ideas for policy, research and advocacy.