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II. Interventions

The resources are divided into the following sections:

A. General Interventions

B. Interventions in Academia

1. Assuring Diverse Student Success

2. Compositional Diversity

3. Institutional Climate

A. General Interventions

How White People Can Work for Racial Justice  

This book provides both a comprehensive overview of white privilege, written to be understood and accepted by white readers; a framework for understanding structural racism, and a set of chapters that outlines broadly what must be done to dismantle racist structures and how individuals can contribute to these efforts. (This resource also listed in toolkit under addressing privilege)

Kivel P, Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice; 4th Edition, New Society Publishers: Canada, 2017

The Racial Justice Talking Circle

Racism is a barrier to racial justice and health equity that is often overlooked by public health professionals. The Racial Justice Talking Circle at Boston University School of Public Health offers a space for students, staff, faculty, and community to have informal and unstructured conversations about race, racism, and privilege. 

5 Things to Remember About Reducing Disparities 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation suggests 5 actions after eight years of disparity interventions: 1) Act Now, 2) Change the Culture, 3) Invite Input, 4) Invest Resources, and 5) Be Patient. 

Leading Conversations About Racism on Predominantly White Campuses

Stand Against Racism targets health disparities  

An initiative that encourages and supports businesses and other groups in Rochester, NY to host discussions to talk about the effects of racism on their group and the community.

B. Interventions in Academia

1. Interventions: Assuring Diverse Student Success

Preview to Diversity Action Plan 

This Diversity Action Plan demonstrates how attention to diversity in education benefits both majority and minority populations. Institutions who are not striving to diversify their student body, faculty and curricula are limiting the learning capacity of their students. The guiding principles of the intuition’s Action Plan are faculty diversity, student diversity, curricular transformation, educational and professional training, campus and community climate, and community outreach and engagement. 

Benefits and Challenges of Diversity 

‘“It is time to renew the promise of American higher education in advancing social progress, end America’s discomfort with race and social difference, and deal directly with many of the issues of inequality present in everyday life.”’

Engaging Students for Success  

Michigan State University has highlighted an essential component of diversity; to build a community. Diversity in higher education is pointless without initiatives to foster support, success, and cohesive thought processes. 

Meeting the Diverse Needs of All Students  

The purpose of a multicultural learning environment is to bridge experiences, values, beliefs, and perspectives. Students must understand that all things and people are interconnected, and this article suggests context, content, and teaching strategies to create multicultural learning environments efficiently. 

Environments Experienced by Minority Students 

Provides a review of 28 published studies on the social and learning environments experienced by underrepresented minority (URM) medical students. 

The Minority Student Voice at One Medical School 

Describes the results of interviews with underrepresented in medicine (URM) students and graduates at The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. The goal of the student was to identify potential strategies through which medical schools can support the success of URM medical students. 

First Generation Students Unite  

This article describes challenges for first generation students going to college. 

A Novel Enrichment Program Using A Cascading Mentorship Model 

This article describes an innovative summer enrichment program based on a cascading mentorship model. The program was designed to give high school students a glimpse of life in medical school and enhance the teaching and leadership skills of underrepresented undergraduate and medical students. 

2. Interventions: Compositional Diversity

Diversity Update: Are We Moving the Needle Enough? PDF (262.31 KB)

This commentary from the Chief Diversity Officer of the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC) assesses the collective progress made by the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals in integrating diversity into their core strategic activities as well as highlighting areas for continued improvement. 

AAMC Diversity Policy and Programs Annual Report  PDF (1.74 MB)   

summarizes the latest projects, publications, and partnerships including the Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine initiative, the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), AAMC Accelerating Health Equity, Advancing Through Discovery (AHEAD) initiative, and the 2015 Mid-Career Minority Faculty Development Seminar. Details of these programs, as well as additional data and resources can be found at: https://www.aamc.org/members/gdi/resources/ 

Assessing the Evolving Definition of Minority  PDF (269.78 KB)

Assesses how U.S. academic health centers (AHCs) define the term underrepresented minority (URM) and apply it to their diversity programs. 

Building Diversity in a Complex AHC  PDF (293.76 KB)

Describes the process by which the University of Pittsburgh linked the diversity and inclusion-related health science programs across the undergraduate campus, school of medicine, schools of the health sciences, clinical practice plan, and medical center in order to improve resource allocation and address health disparities in the community. 

Faculty Cluster Hiring for Diversity PDF (2.95 MB)   

Highlights in-depth qualitative research conducted with institutions that have developed cluster hiring programs in order to transform higher education through the development of diverse research teams that will address some of society’s most complex challenges. 

Holistic Admissions in the Health Professions PDF (653.12 KB)   

Details the results of the National Study on University Admissions in the Health Professions. The study was conducted to examine the impact of admissions strategies across multiple health professions in order to provide data regarding admissions practices intended to improve diversity in the health workforce. 

Innovative Approaches to Promote Diverse Workforce  PDF (277.01 KB

Describes current and future strategies that have been developed at the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at the University of Texas-Pan American to prepare a culturally competent and ethnically diverse health care workforce that can meet the needs of a diverse population. 

Measuring Diversity & Inclusion in Academic Medicine PDF (846.99 KB

Describes the development and validation of the Diversity Engagement Survey, designed to assess the capacity for diversity and inclusion and leverage opportunities for improvement at academic medical centers (AMCs). 

Minority Medical Students’ Interest in Careers  PDF (288.96 KB)   

Presents the results of a survey of students attending three national medical student conferences. The survey was designed to elicit diverse medical students’ perceptions of and interest in careers in academic medicine. 

Raising the Bar on Achieving Racial Diversity  PDF (268.81 KB)   

Presents a review of the background and history of the Supreme Court’s decisions on race as a factor in university admissions decisions and examines the potential effects of Fisher on medical education specifically.

Experience of Minority Faculty at Medical Schools PDF (294.84 KB)

Presents the results of a survey of medical school faculty, comparing the experiences of underrepresented in medicine minority (URMM) faculty with those of non-URMM faculty related to leadership aspiration, inclusion, equity, diversity, and research. 

3. Interventions: Institutional Climate

The Health Care Institution, Population Health and Black Lives

A conceptual framework to address factors that contribute to racial disparities in health and treatment in health institutions and hospitals. The framework’s center is racism as a social determinate of health.

Breaking the Silence: Time to Talk About Race and Racism

An article explaining why health professions faculty are to be equipped to facilitate deep dialogue centering racism, internalized dominance, internalized oppression, and the invisibility of privilege. Therefore, HP administration and faculty must undergo programming that unequivocally identifies individual self-barriers and fears which cause them to avoid dialogues about race, racism and other essential conversations for HP students.  

Assessing Institutional Culture & Climate Webcast 

This multimedia webcast, created in collaboration with experts in the field of institutional culture, walks participants through the Diversity 3.0 Framework, explains what elements should be included in a comprehensive assessment of institutional culture and climate, and provides examples of how institutions might best utilize their findings to effect change. (Video Length: 34 minutes)