New Paper: Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Health Services Research

Posted by on September 30, 2005

[posted from Community Based Participatory Research listserv]

Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Health Services Research:
Pockets of Progress but a Long Way to Go
AcademyHealth, Washington DC, 2005

Available online as PDF file [57p.] at:
http://www.academyhealth.org/diversity/report.pdf

“….AcademyHealth received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to explore how to increase diversity in the field of health services research (HSR) by addressing these four goals:

1. Identify whether there are barriers to underrepresented students (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians who are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents) entering the field, and if so, what they are;

2. Learn what Health Services Research HSR programs and the universities in which they exist are doing to address any barriers and identify “best practices” for student recruitment, retention, and placement;

3. Explore and evaluate whether the creation of a fellowship would have a significant impact, over time, in increasing the numbers of underrepresented individuals choosing HSR as their career option; and

4. Evaluate the need for and identify possible major components of a national strategy promoting Health Services Research HSR as a viable career option to students, especially to the underrepresented students.

With the guidance and support of an advisory committee, AcademyHealth staff and its study advisors conducted qualitative and quantitative studies to address these goals….”