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| Programs to Increase Diversity: Pathways to Health Professions Program FY 2005 Grantees Abstracts Northern Arizona
Area Health Education Center Indigenous Pride Health Careers Program The Indigenous Pride Health Careers Program will be a new, community-based intensive, year-round program. The Indigenous Pride Health Careers Program will select, sponsor and expose underrepresented minority (URM) and disadvantaged high school students from Hopi Junior/Senior High School (HJSHS) and other undergraduate students from the Hopi Reservation to health careers, while promoting healthy lifestyles through education and practice. The program will improve academic achievement and jumpstart student long term interest in health careers by introducing students to academic, life, and job skills through health and health career education, mentorship and peer-teaching experience during the summer program, health-related field work and community service, volunteering, and pre-professional training opportunities. The goals of the Indigenous Pride Health Careers Program are to expose students from the Hopi Reservation to health care work in hope of creating a long term interest that will lead to a career in health, while building their skills and knowledge in order to provide healthcare to their Hopi communities. Through student participation in college level courses, peer-teaching experience, and pre-professional training, the program will train students to work as health educators to increase awareness and educate the community about health issues and encourage lifestyle changes to prevent diseases that are prevalent in the community. Students will participate in and earn 15.5 college level credits in Introduction to Community Health, Community Health Field Work, First Aid and CPR, Medical Terminology, and Introduction to Social Work. Students will also participate in a 192 hours of peer-teaching experience working with other high school and undergraduate students, who will be attending a local eight week summer program. Students will also undergo 128 hours of pre-professional training and volunteering opportunities under the guidance of a Physician and/or other health professional at Hopi Health Care Center. Upon completion of the program, students will receive a Community Health Advisor certification through Northland Pioneer College. The program will be sponsored by the Northern Arizona Area Health Education Center (NAHEC) the Hopi Health Care Center (HHCC), an IHS hospital, and Northland Pioneer College (NPC). Eligible students will be accepted through an application process based on tribal affiliation, one letter of recommendation from a faculty member, a student letter of interest in pursuing a health career, and parental consent and waiver. The program will be conducted by the Project Director, a Program Manager, an IHS Physician, and two additional Program Facilitators. Florida A&M
University The Allied Health Academy The School of Allied Health Sciences (SOAHS) at Florida A&M University (FAMU) proposes The Allied Health Academy (AHA), a program designed to address issues identified in the Pathways to Health Professions Program announcement, funded through the U .S. Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Health Careers Diversity & Development. Despite the well documented projected need, allied health professions continue to be characterized by a conspicuous underrepresentation of minorities. This is particularly true in areas designated as Health Professions Shortage Areas (HSPA). The geographic area targeted by ARA includes eight counties located in the FAMU service area in the Florida Panhandle that have been designated as HPSA's. FAMU is designated as an Historically Black College or University, and has a rich and successful history in educating minority students. One strategy to overcome the problem of underrepresentation is to increase the number of minorities and disadvantaged individuals in health professions education programs, and to increase their probability of success. One factor that contributes to the shortage of minority graduates from allied health education programs is the difficulty that those students have in adjusting to a competitive college environment. Studies have shown that freshmen students arrive on campus with a myriad of unrealistic expectations regarding academic, social, and personal adjustment to college. The AHA will provide activities designed to help students overcome difficulties in making a successful adjustment. The primary goals of the FAMU AHA relate to increasing the presence of minorities in the health professions. The AHA will target eligible l2th grade minority students enrolled in the FAMU Developmental Research High School, who plan to apply for admission to one of the six allied health programs offered in the SOARS. The FAMU AHA will utilize a comprehensive approach in addressing Pathways Program purposes. The FAMU SOAHS is an institution of higher education, and has established formal agreements with the FAMU Developmental Research High School (FAMU DRS), and with a community based entity, the Big Bend Area Health Education Center (BBAHEC). The FAMU AHA targets students with the specific aim of facilitating their engagement in learning experiences that will facilitate their enrollment and increase the likelihood of their success in health professions education. Prior involvement by the SOAHS in similar initiatives, including the currently funded Allied Health Careers Opportunity Program, has met with great success. Evidence indicates that greater success in recruitment, enrollment, and academic persistence can be positively influenced by structured interventions both prior to and during matriculation in health professions programs. This need is directly addressed by the FAMU AHA proposal. Two objectives are to be accomplished through the AHA that address Pathways Program purposes. Objective 1 is: to facilitate the entry of l2th grade students into one of the six degree programs offered in the SOAHS. Objective 2 is: to aid in the retention of AHA participants who enroll in SOAHS programs and to introduce them to opportunities for careers as faculty members and researchers in allied health fields. These objectives will be accomplished though a six-week Summer Institute and an academic year-long Retention Program. A Multicultural Competency Development Program will be included in AHA activities. Program evaluation will be an on-going process linked to each objective, and will be both formative and summative. The Task Force
for Child Survival and Development Mini Medical School: A Program to Encourage Minority and Disadvantaged, to Consider Careers in Health The Task Force for Child Survival and Development and Morehouse School of Medicine, in collaboration with selected high schools in the Fulton and DeKalb County school districts, propose to address the intent of the Pathways to Health Professionals Program through an innovative approach called the Mini Medical School Program. This program will be based at Morehouse, an historically black institution; developed by a consortium of experts in healthcare, public health, and education; and will focus on high school students from schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area with significant enrollment of target populations for the Pathways Program. The Mini Medical School is designed to excite, motivate, and educate students about careers in health by exposing them to some of the most respected minority professionals in the Atlanta area, by addressing some of the traditional barriers these students face, by providing them with healthcare student mentors, and through interesting field trips. They will observe professionals that are from their cultural backgrounds; they will hear from young adults who are currently pursuing careers in health; they will hear about and get to experience in a hands-on way what health professionals do every day; and they will learn about opportunities in our state for financing their post high school education and educational institutions in our area. Most of all, the students will have fun and, hopefully, go away excited about the professional possibilities. The most important goal, however, will be to instill a sense of confidence in attaining their goals and demonstrate that seemingly overwhelming barriers can be overcome. Needs Assessment: Diversifying the healthcare workforce is seen as a key strategy to addressing the severe health disparities that exist among minority populations. Barriers to initial enrollment of minority students in college include family income, parent's education and high school grades. Discussions with local high school principals in our target geographic area indicate that they observe many students coming from low income, minority families that are capable of entering into professions such as healthcare, but are not raised in environments that support the attainment of such a goal. For these students and their families, programs like the one we are proposing can help to create an environment that gives them the confidence and support that allows these children to achieve career goals beyond what their parents were able to do. Our target population will be disadvantaged, minority high school students from selected metro-Atlanta high schools in DeKalb and Fulton Counties, with a population of about 1.5 million, of which over half (53%) are minority (non-white) residents. The largest segment of the minority population is African American (726,646 residents or 49% of the population); however, there is a growing Hispanic population in these counties (114,265 or 8%). Xavier University
of Louisiana Educational Pathways to Health Professions Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) will provide a comprehensive Pathways to Health Professions program to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who pursue careers in the health professions and biomedical sciences. Xavier is a historically Black, Catholic institution located in New Orleans, Louisiana. In conjunction with its College of Arts and Sciences and College of Pharmacy the activities outlined in this application propose to expand the access of underrepresented minorities to health and allied health professions, especially for economically disadvantaged middle and high school students. The intent of XULA' s Primary Pathways program is to promote academic achievement and expose a minimum of 100 students in grades 7-12 to health and allied health professions, especially health professions that are experiencing severe shortages. The Pathways program will have two components: 1) the Summer Science Academy focusing on math, biology, chemistry and critical-thinking skills, and; 2) the Saturday Health Professions Academy, a year-round program focusing on health professions, technology skills, and health education related to nutrition and obesity, disease prevention and wellness, the deleterious affects of tobacco, and the importance of physical exercise. The causes and symptoms of diabetes and HIV/AIDS, diseases that disproportionately affect the African American community, will also be explored with the students. Xavier has a long and rich history of service and providing service-learning students to work in communities. This history of service will be coupled with the University's stellar reputation for educating doctors, scientists, and pharmacists. Since 1981, Xavier University has taken an active role to improve the pre-college science education of disadvantaged Students. Xavier Pathways staff will work in conjunction with our partners on this initiative, the Orleans Parish Schools system, the School to Career, Inc. Healthcare Consortium (including the 27 members of the Metropolitan Hospital Council), the Tulane University School of Medicine and the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, to implement the proposed Pathways to Health Professions comprehensive demonstration model. Washington State
University Spokane CityLab Upper Primary/Middle School Science Health Careers Camps Washington State University Spokane (WSUS) CityLab, in collaboration with the eastern Washington Area Health Education Center (AHEC), and with regional schools and community organizations serving American Indian (AI) students, will evaluate the feasibility of implementing afterschool science/health career clubs and summer science/health career camps for students in grades 5-7 to: (I) increase awareness of health professions of importance to their communities; and (2) promote academic achievement in science/math through hands-on, concept-focused activities of relevance to health careers. Using an afterschool and summer science enrichment program successfully implemented by WSUS CityLab in over 20 urban elementary and middle schools, this project will determine the feasibility of operating this program in rural AI communities. One rural school district, one rural tribal school-age center and one tribal wellness center in northeast Washington and northern Idaho have enthusiastically embraced the project to serve their students who are struggling with high poverty, low test scores and lack of enrichment resources. The project is anticipated to reach 75 students during the year-long grant period. Innovation: Unlike other informal science enrichment programs, this innovative partnership-driven project: (1) combines early intervention activities with targeted health profession extensions designed to stimulate student interest and conceptual understanding of health careers; and (2) benefits from the participation of certified classroom teachers who receive information about health professions and learn new teaching methods to use not only in the camps, but also in their regular classrooms, thus promoting broader dissemination of program materials. Primary Healthy People 2010 Objective: 1.8 Racial and ethnic representation in health professions. NEEDS ASSESSMENT The healthcare industry throughout the US is experiencing shortages of healthcare professionals. Documented shortages are more severe for minority participation in health careers, especially for American Indians (3). These shortages are felt even more acutely by AI populations who are experiencing disease and death rates considerably higher than the US national average, and who are more likely to accept and trust health professionals of their own culture. Health workforce shortage studies indicate Washington will need over 5,000 additional minority health care workers to reflect the diversity of the state population (4). A key component to reducing these health care issues for AI populations is the creation and continued support of education programs from elementary grades through college. Two programs currently operating in Washington focus on this need. One is the HRSA Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP) whose goal is to create a diverse health care workforce prepared and motivated to address the expanding needs of underserved populations. Another program is the Early College High School Initiative for AI students coordinated through Antioch Univ. (www.antiochsea.edu/about/earlycollege/index.html) whose mission is to merge culture, high school and college to create paths of academic success. Both the HCOP and Antioch programs, however, serve only high school students. |
