North Texas Primary Care Practice-Based Research Network - NorTex

12/22/2025

🎄✨ Happy Holidays from NorTex! ✨🎄

Wishing you joy, peace, and wonderful moments this holiday season. Thank you for being part of our community and for all the ways you make a difference every day.
Here’s to a bright and hopeful New Year! 🌟

Picture provided by The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth featuring our NorTex team (Dr. Kim Fulda, Dr. Anna Espinoza, and Ms. Cindy Abrego Lopez) and representation from our Department of Family Medicine in UNT Health Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (Ms. Ashley Leon and Ms. Patricia Powell).

12/18/2025

Our team Dr. Kim Fulda, Dr. Anna Espinoza, Ms. Janice Smith, and Ms. Cindy Abrego Lopez (behind the scenes) represented NorTex and the Department of Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine from UNT Health Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Neighborhood Needs Fort Worth through the Tarrant Area Food Bank to help with their food distribution.

From sorting shelves packed with essentials to loading carts full of fresh produce, we were proud to support families in our community. Every box, every bag, every smile matters—and we’re grateful to have been part of this mission!

A huge thank you to Neighborhood Needs and Tarrant Area Food Bank for the incredible work you do every day.

If you feel led to help out your community, sign up to volunteer here: https://tafb.galaxydigital.com/

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at NorTex!

11/06/2025

🎉 Big congratulations to our friend and collaborator, Jordan Smelley, MHPS! 🎉

Jordan was recently recognized as an internationally award-winning speaker on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and Recovery Supports, earning the Best Presentation Award from the International Conference on Applied Psychology held on October 24, 2025.

We’re so proud to see Jordan’s dedication and advocacy for the IDD community being celebrated on a global stage.

10/22/2025

We had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Cole, the Texas Beacons of Excellence Project Director with UNT WISE, at the Texas Advocates Conference! 💙

Ryan shared about UNT WISE and its programs that empower individuals with disabilities through training, education, and employment support. Their work helps promote competitive, integrated employment and highlights the strengths and talents people with disabilities bring to the workforce.

As we recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we join in celebrating the theme “Celebrating Value and Talent.” Together, we can continue building inclusive workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Learn more about UNT WISE and their impactful programs here: https://wise.unt.edu/

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month!

This year’s theme, “Celebrating Value and Talent,” highlights the importance of recognizing the skills, perspectives, and contributions that people with disabilities bring to the workplace.

At UNT WISE, we believe that hiring people with disabilities isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s a smart business practice. There is incredible, often untapped potential that can strengthen teams, boost innovation, and enrich workplace culture when given the opportunity to thrive.

Through our programs, we see this value in action every day, and we’re proud to continue our mission of advancing competitive, integrated employment for all. 💙

10/16/2025

A couple of very timely stories done by Dr. Kim Fulda, TCOM’s executive director of the North Texas Primary Care Practice-Based Research Network - NorTex, as October is Substance Abuse Prevention month. She debunks many myths about those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and substance abuse and talks about risk factors. A very important topic to learn more about. Great work, Dr. Fulda!
https://tinyurl.com/3p2d6xd7
https://tinyurl.com/yyhwsd87

10/08/2025

Guest post with Kim Fulda, DrPH, Professor, Executive Director of NorTex, UNT Health September is National Recovery Month. Some people think that people with intellectual and developmental disabil…

10/08/2025

Guest post with Kim Fulda, DrPH, Professor, Executive Director of NorTex, UNT Health  October is Substance Abuse Prevention Month. We’re learning more about IDD and substance use. Last month,…

10/07/2025

Join the Accessible Health Care Initiative Workshop Series — a six-part event empowering healthcare professionals to better serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities Disability Community Coordinator team.

🗓️ Starts Oct. 8 | 12–1 PM CT
🎓 Learn from experts, ask questions, and make care more inclusive!
👉REGISTER: bit.ly/AccessibleHealthCare

09/11/2025

📢 New Publication Alert!

We’re excited to share a new article published in Frontiers in Medicine:
“What should patients learn? Co-designing patient education to improve medication safety, professional-patient communication, and partnership”

Click here to read: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1631606

This study highlights the importance of addressing knowledge gaps and information asymmetry between patients and healthcare professionals. By co-designing short educational videos with both patients and professionals, the research team identified ways to strengthen communication, encourage patient ownership of care, and improve medication safety through partnership and shared decision-making.

Congratulations to the Partnership in Resilience for Medication Safety (PROMIS) Patient Safety Learning Lab team!

IntroductionAdverse drug events are a major focus of patient safety research, but work is often limited to healthcare professionals’ actions and inpatient po...

09/09/2025

Researchers at the The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth are recruiting participants for a study exploring intergenerational factors that influence breastfeeding outcomes in the Black/African American community.

Who Can Participate:
• Black/African American
• Age 18 or older
• Had a live birth in the past 24 months
• Live in the United States
What’s Involved:
A one-hour interview (in person or via Zoom). Participants will receive compensation for their time.

Interested or have questions?
Contact: Kaeli Johnson, MS
School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center
KaeliJohnson@my.unthsc.edu
817-735-5052

09/05/2025

The City of Fort Worth's Office of the Police Oversight Monitor (OPOM) invites you to join us for a Community Listening Session in Spanish on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM.

Riverside Community Center
3700 E Belknap St, Fort Worth, TX

This session will be conducted entirely in Spanish and is open to the public. It will provide an opportunity for community members to share their experiences, concerns, and questions about public safety and police oversight in Fort Worth.