C1. Oral Session: Amplifying Underrepresented Voices in Health Research and Tailoring Mentorship Programs
C1.03 - Oral: Tailoring Mentoring Programs for Public Health Students
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM PST
Location: Main Stage (International Ballroom), 2nd Floor
Earn 1.0 Advanced CECH
Area of Responsibility: Area VII: Leadership and Management Subcompetencies: 7.1.4 Execute formal and informal agreements with partners and stakeholders., Research or Practice: Practice
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Examine examples of mentoring programs designed for marginalized populations.
Explain the value of mentorship in increasing the diversity of the public heath workforce.
Identify ways academicians can engage public health students in the mentorship experience.
Brief Abstract Summary: Participants will discover the many ways in which mentoring programs may be tailored to marginalized populations. With the increasing need for a more public health diverse force, little research has been performed on mentoring programs specifically designed for racial and ethnic minority populations. Mentorship is known to be key to academic and professional students, yet Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) students often express greater difficulty in reaching out to potential mentors and developing a relationship with them. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the results of a systematic review of the literature exploring mentoring programs for marginalized populations to enable them to reach their full potential and strive for continuing education to better improve their public health and health education competencies.
Detailed abstract description: Mentoring is an accepted form of information sharing for public health practice in which those participating benefit professionally. It is an accepted form of communication that is viewed as a practice competency with the expectation that all public health practitioners should develop and use. The next step is to educate employers of public health practitioners of the value in supporting mentoring networks in the workplace.
Such networks can benefit employers by nurturing professional development of its workforce. At the same time, employers will have a ready pool of professional expertise that is rich in cross-disciplinary knowledge that is essential for dealing with the ever-changing priorities typical of public health service delivery.
Mentoring may begin as early as high school, but students in undergraduate programs – especially in public health – may benefit from a mentoring program facilitated by public health professionals to help students reach their full potential. With the increasing need for a more public health diverse force, little research has been performed on mentoring programs specifically designed for racial and ethnic minority populations. Mentorship is known to be key to academic and professional students, yet Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) students often express greater difficulty in reaching out to potential mentors and developing a relationship with them. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the results of a systematic review of the literature exploring mentoring programs for marginalized populations to enable them to reach their full potential and strive for continuing education to better improve their public health and health education competencies.
