Graduation and Academic Placement of Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Minority Doctoral Recipients in Public Health Disciplines, United States, 2003-2015

Abstract

Objectives: Given public health's emphasis on health disparities in underrepresented racial/ethnic minority communities, having a racially and ethnically diverse faculty is important to ensure adequate public health training. We examined trends in the number of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority (ie, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) doctoral graduates from public health fields and determined the proportion of persons from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups who entered academia. Methods: We analyzed repeated cross-sectional data from restricted files collected by the National Science Foundation on doctoral graduates from US institutions during 2003-2015. Our dependent variables were the number of all underrepresented racial/ethnic minority public health doctoral recipients and underrepresented racial/ethnic minority graduates who had accepted academic positions. Using logistic regression models and adjusted odds ratios (aORs), we examined correlates of these variables over time, controlling for all independent variables (eg, gender, age, relationship status, number of dependents). Results: The percentage of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority doctoral graduates increased from 15.4% (91 of 592) in 2003 to 23.4% (296 of 1264) in 2015, with the largest increase occurring among black graduates (from 6.6% in 2003 to 14.1% in 2015). Black graduates (310 of 1241, 25.0%) were significantly less likely than white graduates (2258 of 5913, 38.2%) and, frequently, less likely than graduates from other underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups to indicate having accepted an academic position (all P < .001). Conclusions: Stakeholders should consider targeted programs to increase the number of racial/ethnic minority faculty members in academic public health fields.

Postgraduate Employment Outcomes of Undergraduate and Graduate Public Health Students

“…Fourteen articles focused on subareas of public health (3 on health communication/education, 40 -42 3 on maternal and child health, 43 -45 5 on global health, 46 -50 1 on industrial hygiene, 51 1 on nutrition, 52 1 on Aboriginal health), 53 5 articles focused on undergraduates, 54 -58 and 3 articles focused on doctoral graduates. 45,59,60 Two articles focused on postgraduate employment outcomes of a subset of graduates who had previously participated in a volunteer program, 57,61 and 1 focused on international students. 62 Four themes emerged: variability in study methods, inconsistency in study timing, disparate quality of studies, and the employment outcomes themselves.…”

“…Seventeen studies were surveys of the alumni of a single school or program of public health using mail, telephone, or online survey methods. 40,44,45,48,50,52 -55,57,58,61 -66 Three studies were surveys sent to graduate programs, 41,43,67 7 were surveys of alumni of multiple schools or programs of public health, 11,42,46,47,49,56,68 2 were based on nationally collected surveys of doctoral recipients in the United States, 59,60 3 were national data collections from numerous schools and programs of public health, 11,20,22 and 1 used data from the published websites of multiple schools and programs of public health. 63…”

“…11,20,22,23,49,54,63 Seven studies did not indicate clearly which cohorts were included. 41,50,52,53,56,67,68 The data for studies of doctoral graduates using the National Science Foundation’s annual Survey of Earned Doctorates, which are collected annually from all doctoral graduates in the United States, 59,60 were gathered before graduation. One study was unclear about whether the people surveyed were still students or alumni.…”

“…Unemployment rates ranged from 0% to 20%. Ten articles did not indicate the primary employment outcome (eg, employed, unemployed) 41,42,44,46,47,51,57,60,66,67 7 articles did not report on employment sector, 20,46,51,54,57,60,65 and, when sector was reported, the reports used categories that were too inconsistent to allow comparisons among programs. One article simply stated that graduates were employed “in a range of sectors” 54 and another conflated job function with industry.…”

Racial and Sexual Minority Scholar Positionality: Advancing Health Status and Life Opportunity Among Sexual Minority Men of Color

“…Demographic trends document underrepresentation of racial, gender, and sexual minorities in doctoral training (Callahan et al, 2018; Carey et al, 2018; Page et al, 2017). Currently, doctoral and postdoctoral education pipelines suffer from a lack of racial, ethnic, and sexual diversity (Jackson et al, 2019). Recent studies suggest that a lack of diversity within doctoral training has implications for research and clinical practice (e.g., social work, nursing, and medicine; Callahan et al, 2018; Carey et al, 2018; Page et al, 2017).…”