Linking Healthcare Disparities through Underrepresented Minority Public Health Student Support

By Office of the President | Oct 17, 2023

The Downstate Public Health Scholarship Program (DPHSP) addresses disparities in healthcare by recruiting, training, and retaining underrepresented minority (URM) public health students. In its efforts to reduce healthcare disparities, the program has made significant strides by enrolling more than 100 students during the fall, spring, and summer semesters, concentrating on North and Central Brooklyn. In these areas, 47 percent of Black and Latino residents experience elevated poverty rates, unemployment, food insecurity, and lower life expectancy.

The program’s objectives include diversifying the public health workforce, offering an interdisciplinary health equity seminar series, launching a mentoring initiative called PROGRESS, and enhancing public health system capacity through COVID-19 and health equity opportunities.

To date, DPHSP, whose project directors are Anika Daniels-Osaze, EdD, MPH, and Marlene Camacho-Rivera, ScD, MS MPH, has awarded 85 scholarships to economically disadvantaged students pursuing degrees in public health. They have built strong partnerships with various agencies and organizations, ensuring students’ participation in field experiences related to COVID-19, emergency preparedness, and health equity.

Program activities include student participation in the NIH Transport/Health Equity conference, which covers social determinants of health (SDOH), disparities, and COVID-19 preparedness. A new mentoring program, PROGRESS, is also in development with support from the university’s president.

I am pleased to support this project with SPH Dean Demissie, which has resulted in funding for the APEx coordinator overseeing the program and providing participants with valuable career development and guidance.

Exit and alums surveys will be essential tools in assessing the program’s effectiveness in tracking graduation rates and career paths, with a plan to graduate 255 skilled public health professionals in three years, a milestone that will significantly contribute to diversifying the public health workforce and bolstering the capacity of public health systems.