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Nursing
Workforce Development
Nursing Workforce Diversity
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FY
2007
Actual |
FY
2008
Enacted |
FY
2009 Estimate |
FY
2009 +/-
FY 2008 |
BA |
$16,107,000
|
$15,826,000
|
$16,107,000
|
$281,000
|
Authorizing Legislation: Section 821 of the Public
Health Service Act.
FY
2009 Authorization |
Expired |
Allocation
Method |
Competitive
Grant/Contract |
Program
Description and Accomplishments
The
purpose of the Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) program
is to provide Federal funding for projects to increase
nursing education opportunities for individuals from
disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial and ethnic
minorities underrepresented among registered nurses).
The NWD Program was established in 1998 and provides
grants or contracts to projects that incorporate retention
programs, pre-entry preparation programs, and supports
student scholarships and/or stipend programs. The
goal of the NWD Program is to improve the diversity
of the nursing workforce to meet the increasing need
for culturally sensitive and quality health care.
In addition to contributing to the preparation of
a racially and ethnically diverse nursing workforce,
this program also contributes to the basic preparation
of disadvantaged and minority nurses for leadership
positions within the nursing profession and the health
care community.
The
NWD program supports projects that provide educational
opportunities for students to become registered nurses
and/or opportunities for practicing registered nurses
to pursue a baccalaureate degree in nursing. This
program directly serves eligible applicants such as
schools of nursing, academic health centers, State
and local governments, and other private or public
entities determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Schools of nursing must be accredited by a national
nurse education accrediting agency or State approval
agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department
of Education. Project participants impacted by this
program are students from disadvantaged backgrounds
in grades K-12, post-high school students and students
enrolled in pre-nursing and nursing programs. Projects
are expected to demonstrate that the cohort of nursing
students will graduate within the three-year project
period.
It
has been found that minority and disadvantaged nurses
are more likely to serve in areas with a high proportion
of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and to
practice in or near designated health care shortage
areas. Numerous studies have documented that increasing
the number of minority health professionals as a key
strategy to eliminating
health disparities. Diversity in the health workforce
will strengthen cultural competence throughout the
health system. Cultural competence profoundly influences
how health professionals deliver health care.
The
NWD Program addresses three major initiatives: 1)
retention programs, 2) pre-entry preparation programs,
and 3) student scholarship and/or stipend programs.
The
retention programs focus on creative interventions
designed to assist nursing students from disadvantaged
backgrounds to continue their pursuit of a nursing
education. Nursing students are engaged in retention
programs that include activities that are creative
interventions designed to academically assist, mentor
and coach disadvantaged nursing students to successfully
complete the nursing programs. These activities address
identified educational barriers, reduce attrition
rates and improve graduation rates for NWD Program
participants.
The
pre-entry preparation programs focus on creative interventions
designed to enhance the academic abilities and preparation
of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to increase
their competitiveness for entry into a professional
nursing program. The program and its activities must
identify, motivate, recruit and select potential candidates
for a professional nursing education.
The
student stipends and scholarships program provides
financial assistance to project participants to enhance
their ability for successful entrance and completion
of a professional nursing education program. The purpose
of the stipend and scholarship support is to reduce
the financial barriers associated with disadvantaged
students obtaining a higher level of education. The
entity organization is responsible for disbursing
scholarships and stipends to project participants.
In
FY 2007:
- 2,697
high school, pre-nursing and nursing students received
financial assistance through NWD funded grant stipends
and scholarships in the amount of $3,242,197.
- The
NWD Program awarded 51 grants to eligible entities
to meet the costs of special projects to increase
nursing education opportunities for 32,847 individuals
from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- 2,223
nursing students graduated from NWD funded nursing
programs. Of those graduates, 990 (45 percent) were
identified as disadvantaged minorities and 1,233
(55 percent) were identified as disadvantaged whites.
- 6,637
elementary and middle school students participated
in NWD mentoring projects.
- 15,756
high school students participated in academic enrichment
activities to increase their competitiveness for
entry into nursing programs.
- 3,823
post high school and pre-nursing students and 6,631
nursing students participated in NWD funded nursing
programs.
The
accomplishments for FY 2007 are consistent with Fiscal
Years 2006 and 2005 with 53 and 57 funded grants respectively.
Most
of the Health Professions Title VII and Title VIII
PHS Act programs were reviewed as a unit in 2002 using
the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). This program
was included in that assessment. See Summary of the
Request.
Funding
includes costs associated with grant reviews, processing
of grants through the Grants Administration Tracking
and Evaluation System (GATES) and HRSA’s electronic
handbook, and follow-up performance reviews.
Funding
History
FY
2004 |
$16,402,000 |
FY 2005 |
$16,270,000 |
FY 2006 |
$16,096,000 |
FY
2007 |
$16,107,000 |
FY
2008 |
$15,826,000 |
Budget
Request
The
FY 2009 Request of $16,107,000 is an increase of $281,000
above the FY 2008 Enacted level. The increase will
support an additional 507 minority student/participants
and 149 white disadvantaged student/participants.
Of these, the increase will support 133 additional
nursing program students, 76 post-high school college
pre-entry nursing students, and 447 K-12 participants.
The increase will also support an additional 12 students
receiving scholarships. The total request will support
656 minority and white disadvantaged students/participants.
Although
the minority population in the U.S. accounts for 33
percent of the total population, the 2004 National
Sample Survey of Registered Nurses reports that only
10.6 percent of the nursing workforce comes from racial/ethnic
minority groups (however, there was a 7.5 percent
non-response rate for racial/ethnic background). An
estimated 500,000 registered nurses from racial/ethnic
minority groups would be needed if the nurse population
were to reflect the U.S. population as a whole. To
address this need in FY 2009, the total request will
be used to prepare and train an estimated 25,392 minority
and 7,455 white disadvantaged student/participants
for a total of 32,847 minority and white disadvantaged
students/participants. Of these, an estimated 6,631
nursing students, 3,823 pre-nursing and 22,393 K-12
students will benefit from this program. In addition,
an estimated 618 disadvantaged nursing student will
receive scholarships.
# |
Key
Outputs |
FY
2004 Actual |
FY
2005 Actual |
FY
2006 |
FY
2007 |
FY
2008
Enacted |
FY
2009
Est. |
Out-Year
Target |
Target |
Actual |
Target |
Actual |
Disadvantaged
Students/Participants |
|
Number
and percent of minority student/participants * |
12,662
(74%) |
22,468
(74%) |
NA |
20,740
(73%) |
NA |
25,392
(77%) |
24,885
(73%) |
25,392
(77%) |
NA |
|
Number
and percent of white disadvantaged student/participants
* |
4,449
(26%) |
8,090
(26%) |
NA |
7,532
(27%) |
NA |
7,455
(23%) |
7,306
(27%) |
7,455
(23%) |
NA |
|
Total
Number and percent of minority and white disadvantaged
students/participants |
17,111
(100%) |
30,558
(100%) |
NA |
28,272
(100%) |
NA |
32,847
(100%) |
32,191
(100%) |
32,847
(100%) |
NA |
Level
of Students/Participants ** |
|
Number
of nursing program students* |
1,777 |
4,608 |
NA |
4,454 |
NA |
6,631 |
6,498 |
6,631 |
NA |
|
Number
of post high school college pre-entry nursing
students |
3,902 |
4,730 |
NA |
3,302 |
NA |
3,823 |
3,747 |
3,823 |
NA |
|
Number
of K-12 students/participants |
11,432 |
21,220 |
NA |
20,516 |
NA |
22,393 |
21,946 |
22,393 |
NA |
Student
Financial Support |
|
Number
of nursing students expected to receive scholarships |
470 |
401 |
NA |
454 |
NA |
618 |
606 |
618 |
NA |
|
Appropriated
Amount ($ Million) |
$16.402
|
$16.270
|
|
$16.096 |
|
$16.107 |
$15.826 |
$16.107 |
|
NA – Not Applicable
* This data represent programmatic outputs from FY
2006, reported in February, 2007 for students in the
Nursing Workforce Diversity program.
** Level of Students/Participants is included in the
Total Number and Percent of Minority and Disadvantaged
White Students/Participants above.
NA – Not Applicable
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