Office of Minority Health

Grantee Information

President and Fellows of Harvard College
25 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115-5810
617-432-3213 (Phone)
www.harvard.edu/harvard-corporation

Harvard University is an academic institution devoted to excellence in teaching, learning and research. Established in 1636, Harvard is committed to developing leaders who will have the capacity to make a difference on a global level. Specifically, the President and Fellows of Harvard College are committed to facilitating and assessing grant programs with policy and systems change implications.

Grant Project Information

HMS MFDP Cooperative Agreement for Minority Workforce Development
Length of Project: 9/1/12-8/31/15
Annual Funding Level: $200,000
Project Director: Dr. Joan Y. Reede
617-432-3213 (Phone)
E-mail: joan_reede@hms.harvard.edu

Abstract

Studies have shown that African Americans and Hispanics enter higher educational programs with the same level of interest in science, technology and medicine as their White counterparts. However, African American and Hispanic populations do not matriculate through the aforementioned majors at the same rate. Several aspects influence this disparity including secondary school preparation, negative perceptions of medical fields, socio-economic status, social support systems, stereotype vulnerability and discrimination. Harvard Medical School (HMS) aims to combat the underrepresentation of minorities within health fields and aims to strengthen this infrastructure by achieving the following objectives:

• Increasing the pool of minority students interested in science and health careers;
• Implementing programs that strengthen leadership capacity and knowledge of health professionals and faculty in order to address health disparities; and
• Developing and implementing data collection and management tools that assist the evaluation of programs and policies that address workforce disparities.

The primary strategies that will be used to meet these objectives include the facilitation of supplementary educational programs, providing leadership development opportunities, and conducting professional/career development workshops. Specifically, the project will facilitate 10 unique workforce development programs.

HMS will utilize a mixed-methods approach of formative and summative evaluation methodologies to assess the results produced by the workforce development programs. Specifically, the evaluation will describe the benefits realized by participants, and the implementation factors and processes used to accomplish the overall and specific program objectives. Evaluations will be conducted using quantitative and qualitative data from surveys, pre-and post-test interviews and focus groups, firsthand observations, program logs and records, and a program database. Anticipated program outcomes include: enhanced knowledge of scientific concepts; increased selection of health related majors; and improved knowledge about federal funding and research training opportunities.

Objective