The underrepresentation of minorities in health and other professions has long cast a shadow over our nation's efforts to develop a more representative and productive society. Many programs have been developed to enlarge the presence of minorities in health careers, but these efforts have been unable to develop the infrastructure and momentum needed to produce and sustain an adequate number of minority professionals among the ranks of clinicians, researchers, and teachers.

This book looks at the historical significance of this underrepresentation, presents data that define the problem, and identifies underlying factors that contribute to the failure to achieve fairness in opportunity.

The volume examines programs that have made successful efforts to decrease underrepresentation and sets forth an action and research agenda for further enhancing the numbers of minorities in the health professions.

Contents

• COMMITTEE TO INCREASE MINORITY PARTICIPATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • BACKGROUND
  • SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM
• 2. Factors That Define the Pipeline
  • WHERE THE LEAK BEGINS
  • FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MINORITY UNDERREPRESENTATION
  • CONCLUSION
• 3. Lessons from Successful Programs
  • MEDICAL SCHOOL LEVEL
  • POSTBACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS
  • COLLEGE PROGRAMS
  • UNIVERSITY OUTREACH
  • HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
  • COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS
  • SUMMARY
• 4. Sharing Visions and Working Toward the Future
  • BUILDING THE VISION
  • MOVING THE VISION FORWARD
  • SUMMARY
• References
• A: Listing of Workshop Participants and Commissioned Papers
• B: Further Sources of Information

Support for this project was provided by The Josiah Macy, Jr., Foundation (Grant No. S9171 1), The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Grant No. 18530), The Pew Charitable Trusts (Grant No. 91-01994-000), and the Office of Special Populations, National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. 92MF34075601 D).

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The Institute of Medicine was chartered in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to enlist distinguished members of the appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. In this, the Institute acts under both the Academy's 1863 congressional charter responsibility to be an adviser to the federal government and its own initiative in identifying issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.