Project Description:
Current scientific evidence overwhelmingly documents the disproportionately high burden of preventable disease, disability, and injury among people who are considered racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, especially African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Importantly, there are projected shortages in the public health workforce, especially for African American, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and select Asian American populations.
The Maternal and Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement (MCHC/RISE-UP) Program provides undergraduate students from disadvantaged and/or under-represented racial and ethnic groups with opportunities for enhanced public health and related training to encourage and support the pursuit of graduate degrees in public health and related fields. Funding from this program is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Minority Undergraduate Program and was awarded to the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) at Johns Hopkins University. MCHC/RISE-up is a consortium of three UCEDD/LEND programs at KKI (Baltimore, MD), the University of South Dakota, and the USC UCEDD at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and their university partners of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges. The ultimate goal of the MCHC/RISE-UP Consortium is to increase the number of highly qualified graduate students from underrepresented groups entering the public health and related systems workforce to promote health equity. Students will spend one week (5/29-6/2) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins for an introduction to the program, and one week (July 29-August 3, 2012) at the Centers for Disease Control with students from the three other universities funded under this competition: Columbia University Medical College (NY), University of Michigan School of Public Health (Ann Arbor), and Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA).
The MCHC/RISE-UP Program will enroll up to 50 under-represented racial and ethnic (URM) undergraduate junior, senior, and recent baccalaureate degree students in a 10-week summer mentored comprehensive public health experience in one of three sites: Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, the USC UCEDD/CSULA Minority Partnership in Los Angeles, and the University of South Dakota UCEDD/LEND program.
Cross-sectional themes which run throughout the LA-Based curriculum include:
?Los Angeles as an Urban Cultural Laboratory
?Health and other disparities associated with race, ethnicity, language, and the presence of a disability
?Equity and Social Justice
?Systems of care for low-income, uninsured, underserved, ethnically diverse populations and how they relate to Public Health
?The 3 core functions of Public Health (Assurance, assessment, policy development) and the 10 essential functions (assure competent workforce; evaluate; monitor health; diagnose and investigate; inform,educate, and empower; mobility community partnerships; develop policies; enforce laws, link to/provide care)
Students participate in weekly didactic lectures and interactive teaching experiences on topics related to the three content strands and the themes which flow throughout the curriculum. Lectures are provided in clusters by faculty at university campuses where graduate programs in public health or related disciplines are offered to expose students to different academic environments where they might apply to graduate school, i.e., USC Institute for Prevention Research, USC Schools of Public Policy, Gerontology, Law, Bio-kinesiology and Pt; Department of Pediatrics and Division of Adolescent Medicine at CHLA, UCLA School of Public Health,CSULA, and the USC UCEDD. Students will also participate in 16-20 hrs of internships with faculty or staff in a variety of settings working with a continuum of vulnerable populations. All MCHC/RISE-UP MCHC/RISE-UP students receive assistance with development of timeline for graduate school application, personal statements, and curriculum vitae. Graduate Records Exam test preparation will be sponsored through the MCHC/RISE-UP program. The anticipated outcome of this program is successful admission to a graduate program in Public Health or related field. Students will be followed for five years.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Empowerment Zone
