An open house to introduce the Healthier Black Elders program to the Detroit community will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 30 at Hannan House, 4750 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

The event is an opportunity for the media and community to learn more about anew health program sponsored by Wayne State University's Institute for Gerontology (IOG) and the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR).

The Healthier Black Elders program is part of the newly established Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research. The center is funded by a $2.1 million National Institute on Aging grant shared by WSU and UM.

The universities will conduct urban research and outreach activities designed to reduce health disparities for older African Americans. Principal investigators on the grant are Peter Lichtenberg, interim director of the IOG, and James Jackson of the ISR. Both will be at the open house and available to discuss their research.

"Many scales for research have not been tested with this population," Lichtenberg said. "We're trying to determine the validity of those scales so we can reduce the health disparities between elder African Americans and their older white counterparts.

"Problems like diabetes, hypertension and stroke are much more common in the African American community and we've already educated 150 residents about these diseases. In addition, the center has funded six pilot projects by minority researchers on issues of health and health research."

Highlighted during the event will be summaries of the health research conducted by minority investigators from WSU and the UM as well as community education programs offered by the two schools. The researchers will be available that day to discuss their work. Also available for interviews will be six seniors who took part in the community education program

"This is a real collaborative effort between the university and the community to address the health needs of black elders and promoting good health," Lichtenberg said. "Also, bringing junior minority faculty into research on minority aging issues is important and can help affect how knowledge and information is being transmitted to the community. Now is a good time for this because 1999 is the International Year of Older Persons."

Peter Lichtenberg and researcher Diane Brown of the WSU College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs are available for advance interviews. Please call Wayne State media relations at (313) 577-2150 for more details.