Capacity-Building for Career Paths in Public Health and Biomedical Research for Undergraduate Minority Students: A Jackson Heart Study Success Model
<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This article chronicles the building of individual student capacity as well as faculty and institutional capacity, within the context of a population-based, longitudinal study of African Americans and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this article is to present preliminary data documenting the results of this approach. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Design: </strong>The JHS Scholars program is designed, under the organizational structure of the Natural Sciences Division at Tougaloo College, to provide solid preparation in quantitative skills through: good preparation in mathematics and the sciences; a high level of reading comprehension; hands-on learning experiences; and mentoring and counseling to sustain the motivation of the students to pursue further studies. </p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>This program is on the campus of a private Historically Black College in Mississippi. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>The participants in the program are undergraduate students. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Main Outcome Measures: </strong>Data, which included information on major area of study, institution attended, degrees earned and position in the workforce, were analyzed using STATA 14. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 167 scholars, 46 are currently enrolled, while 118 have graduated. One half have completed graduate or professional programs, including; medicine, public health, pharmacy, nursing, and biomedical science; approximately one-fourth (25.4 %) are enrolled in graduate or professional programs; and nearly one tenth (9.3%) completed graduate degrees in law, education, business or English. </p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These data could assist other institutions in understanding the career development process that helps underrepresented minority students in higher education to make career choices on a path toward public health, health professions, biomedical research, and related careers. <em>Ethn Dis. </em>2016;26(3):399-406; doi:10.18865/ed.26.3.399 </p>