1:00pm - 1:15pm (CDT) | 5098.0 - Pathway programs intentionally improving processes to reflect the community: Student success stories from the rockies, the Southeast, and New England

Session: Academic-Practice Linkages to Support Governmental Public Health Pathways

Program: Academic and Practice Linkages in Public Health Caucus

Presenter: Maurine Crouch, MPH, CHES

Abstract

The need to stabilize and increase the state and local governmental public health workforce, particularly among younger employees, and to better reflect the communities served has generated interest and growth in programs supporting Academic-Practice Pathways to Governmental Public Health. A commitment to reflect diverse communities in pathway programs calls for building capacity, processes, and relationships to implement and improve programs that support students while building public health competencies, including skills to work with diverse communities. Teams managing pathway programs in both governmental public health and academia are ready to discuss their successes and challenges, with a particular focus on increasing diversity.

The Public Health Training Center Network (PHTCN), ten university-based HRSA-funded Training Centers, has decades of experience managing stipend pathway programs that provide direct experience to public health students through placements in a public health agency, many in health departments. From 2018 to 2023, the PHTCN has placed 1,174 students, 72% in Medically Underserved Areas, 26% at Rural sites, and 24% in Primary Care Settings. 27% of these placements have been in local or state health departments. Three pathway programs - Region 1’s Health Equity Student Stipend Program (New England PHTC); Region 4’s Pathways to Practice Scholars Field Placement Program (Region IV PHTC); and Region 8’s Student Leaders in Public Health (Rocky Mountain PHTC) - will share student success stories reflecting distinct regional disparities. Descriptions of the intentional process improvements aimed at increasing reflection of the community through marketing, application, selection, and support will be shared. Each program collects slightly different demographic data to reflect underrepresented minorities (URM) and disadvantaged populations, and other forms of diversity, and each will share their specific or composite measures from 2023 and 2024. For example, NEPHTC’s Composite Measure for URM/Disadvantaged/SOGIM was 61.6% of students for 2023 and 85.7% of students for 2024 (as of 2/23/24).

Pathway programs are excellent ways to build the future public health workforce to reflect the community. PHTCN pathway programs can share QI lessons learned and will also keep learning from others.