Advancing Health Equity through Organizational Mentoring Policies at Minority-Serving Institutions

Abstract

Objective: Morehouse School of Medicine, a collaborative partner in the National Research Mentoring Network, established the Mentoring Academy Institutional Plan­ning Forum (MA Forum) to help minority-serving institutions (MSI) optimize research mentoring. In this commentary, we describe the policy workshop and review survey data from six MSIs to assess the current state of organizational policies and activities that advance research mentoring.Participants: Twenty-eight institutional leaders, representing six MSIs, participated in an MA Forum between May 20, 2016 and May 11, 2017.Methods: After describing the MA Forum’s background, design and recruitment strat­egy, we present a synthesis of institutional summaries built from responses to a 45-item survey that explored existing mentoring infrastructure, policies, and activities at each institution.Results: There is a heavy reliance on extra­mural funds to facilitate research mentoring initiatives. Mentoring policies and activities were most often governed by individual programs rather than the institution. Thus, the research mentoring expertise was concentrated at the local level, which may prevent opportunities for future scalability and optimization.Conclusions: Given these findings, we offer recommendations to help MSIs establish a mentoring culture backed by institutional policy. Ethn Dis. 2019;29(Suppl 2): 371- 376; doi:10.18865/ed.29.S2.371.

Efforts of diversity and inclusion, cultural competency, and equity in the genetic counseling profession: A snapshot and reflection

“…It offers a mechanism to fairly assess the qualifications of applicants and can track demographics Beyond research, data collection and investigations into career equity, it is vital to establish and support mentorship opportunities that allow for DICE issues to be proactively and empathetically discussed. This could be particularly important for individuals who are the first generation to attain higher education in their family (who are often individuals with minority racial and/or ethnic identities) as they may experience pervasive feelings of isolation and inadequacy among those in their profession (Johnson Hemming et al, 2019;Mikkonen, Merilainen, & Tomietto, 2019;Zambrano, 2019). The genetic counseling workforce has acknowledged the importance of mentorship and support to all genetic counseling trainees and young professionals, and particularly to those who are underrepresented in the field.…”

Impact of COVID-19 on the Research Career Advancement of Health Equity Scholars from Diverse Backgrounds

“…We conducted an online survey to gain insight into disruptions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic by the first cohort of scholars in the parent U01 study. The U01 study is framed as the Strategic Empowerment Tailored for Health Equity Investigators (NRMN-SETH) based on Grant Writing and Coaching Groups implemented in NRMN Phase I [ 27 , 31 , 32 ]. The participants that went through a competitive application process were ESIs, some were not from underrepresented groups but were working in minority institutions, focusing on health equity research and randomly assigned to receive structured grant writing coaching (Group A) or mentoring around developmental networks and structured grant writing coaching (DN intervention/Group B) [ 33 ].…”

Building a Diverse Workforce and Thinkforce to Reduce Health Disparities

“…The MSM IDC was built on the foundation of their well-developed Mentoring Academy [10] that worked in synergy with the AC, CEC, and RIC to create a nurturing environment for the next generation of biomedical investigators to achieve the mission of advancing health equity. Research Studios and intensive coaching of early-stage investigators to prepare and submit NIH grant applications through the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) [11] were key features.…”