Dawn L. Comeau

The American Science Pipeline: Sustaining Innovation in a Time of Economic Crisis.

Significant limitations have emerged in Americas science training pipeline, including inaccessibility, inflexibility, financial limitations, and lack of diversity. We present three effective programs that collectively address these challenges. The programs are grounded in rigorous science and integrate through diverse disciplines across undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, and resonate with the broader community. We discuss these models in the context of current economic constraints on higher education and the urgent need for our institutions to recruit and retain diverse student populations and sustain the successful American record in scientific education and innovation.

Label-First Sexual Identity Development: An In-Depth Case Study of Women Who Identify as Bisexual Before Having Sex With More Than One Gender

This article explores the concept of label-first sexual identity development through two in-depth case studies with women who claimed a bisexual label before engaging in sexual behavior with a partner of a different gender than their previous partner(s). Data are from a larger qualitative study of life history interviews with women who partner with women and men throughout their life courses. Feminist theories of intersectionality provide a framework to explore the web of social locations bisexual women inhabit and how these multiple aspects of identity, such as race, class and religion, coalesce to create a bisexual identity in the absence of same-sex behavior. The role of friendships, dialogue about bisexuality, community, geographic location and family dynamics are critical components in this pattern of sexual identity development.

Student and faculty perceptions on the rapid scale-up of medical students in Ethiopia

BackgroundEthiopia is a country of over 94 million people that has a severe physician shortage with approximately only 2.5 physicians per 100,000 persons. Recently, the Ethiopian government implemented a “flood and retain” initiative to rapidly increase the quantity of physicians in Ethiopia. Consequently, medical student enrollment at Addis Ababa University (AAU) School of Medicine increased from 100 to approximately 300–400 students per class. This study evaluated the impact of the rapid scale-up in the number of medical students on the quality of medical education at AAU and the impact of the U.S. government-funded Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant awarded to AAU to provide resources to strengthen the quality of medical education at AAU.MethodsQualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 key informants including faculty members, administrators and medical students at AAU. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and interview data were analyzed with thematic analysis.ResultsFour key themes emerged from the data. Overall, participants perceived a decrease in the quality of medical education at AAU due to challenges created by the rapid scale-up in the number of medical students. Positive learning environments were described as difficult to achieve due to overcrowding in classrooms and the limited numbers of textbooks. Overall, participants stated that infrastructure improvement is needed to provide adequate medical student training. The medical education initiatives implemented and funded by MEPI have provided significant resources to support the medical student curriculum but additional resources are required to accommodate a large student body.ConclusionsThe unprecedented rapid scale-up of medical students has impacted multiple facets of medical education at AAU. It is important to consider the perspectives of students and faculty in order to focus future medical education policies, MEPI programming and the allocation of resources.

Improving clinical and translational research training: a qualitative evaluation of the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute KL2-mentored research scholars program

A major impediment to improving the health of communities is the lack of qualified clinical and translational research (CTR) investigators. To address this workforce shortage, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed mechanisms to enhance the career development of CTR physician, PhD, and other doctoral junior faculty scientists including the CTR-focused K12 program and, subsequently, the KL2-mentored CTR career development program supported through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). Our evaluation explores the impact of the K12/KL2 program embedded within the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), a consortium linking Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology. We conducted qualitative interviews with program participants to evaluate the impact of the program on career development and collected data on traditional metrics (number of grants, publications). 46 combined K12/KL2 scholars were supported between 2002 and 2016. 30 (65%) of the 46 K12/KL2 scholars are women; 24 (52%) of the trainees are minorities, including 10 (22%) scholars who are members of an underrepresented minority group. Scholars reported increased research skills, strong mentorship experiences, and positive impact on their career trajectory. Among the 43 scholars who have completed the program, 39 (91%) remain engaged in CTR and received over

Community-Engaged Learning in Public Health: An Evaluation of Utilization and Value of Student Projects for Community Partners

89 000 000 as principal investigators on federally funded awards. The K12/KL2 funding provided the training and protected time for successful career development of CTR scientists. These data highlight the need for continued support for CTR training programs for junior faculty.

Building diverse careers in clinical and translational research: Evaluation of a certificate program in translational research

Schools and programs of public health must equip public health professionals to conduct community health assessments that can be subsequently used by community partners to inform programs, policies, and interventions. Measuring health outcomes, identifying behavioral risk and protective factors, and mapping community assets for social and behavioral science interventions is a key competency for departments of social and behavioral sciences. Community-engaged learning is one approach to build student competency while developing mutually beneficial relationships between academic settings and community organizations. This mixed-methods evaluation explores the value of community-engaged learning to community partners who collaborate with courses on community assessment in public health. Data were collected through interviews with community partners and a quantitative survey. Data analysis involved thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Results suggest that community partners value community-engaged learning in several ways: (a) students provided quality data and reports that informed program development and revision, (b) students offered increased human capacity and the skills needed to conduct community assessments, and (c) organizations benefitted from the prestige of sustained relationships with an academic partner. Challenges of community-engaged learning included difficult timelines and demands from students based on the semester schedule. Organizations recommended additional interaction with faculty members to clarify project goals and student responsibilities. Lessons from the evaluation are beneficial to other colleges and universities and community organizations invested in successful and valuable academic–community relationships.

Study Design and Use of Inquiry Frameworks in Qualitative Research Published in Health Education & Behavior:

Introduction The Certificate Program in Translational Research (CPTR) at the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance provides Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty with didactic, mentored, and experiential training in clinical and translational research. Methods Quantitative evaluation includes tracking trainee competency, publications, grants and careers in clinical and translational research. Qualitative evaluation includes interviews with trainees about program experiences. Results The CPTR provided knowledge and skills in clinical and translational research through coursework, clinical rotations, and collaboration with interdisciplinary scientists. Trainees reported increased confidence in 22 program competencies. Trainees have published more than 290 peer-reviewed articles and received over

A Review of Qualitative Data Analysis Practices in Health Education and Health Behavior Research

4 million in grants from the NIH, over

Mentoring in Global Health: Formative Evaluation of Tuberculosis Research Training Programs in Ethiopia and Georgia

15 million from the U.S. Department of Defense, and more than

The Impact of a Fogarty International Center-Supported Tuberculosis Research Training Program in the Country of Georgia

300,000 from foundations. Trainees who completed the program remained in clinical and translational research. Conclusions Programs like the CPTR are needed to train investigators to advance biomedical discoveries into population health.