Advancing Healthcare through Training for African American/Black Interpreters.

According to Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID), there are only five African American/Black interpreters in Cincinnati who hold the generalist certification. This is a significant gap in workforce representation in a city where 43% of its population identifies as African American. The primary aim of this project is to increase the number of AA/Black interpreters who are RID certified in Cincinnati through the efforts of the community of practice.

Community Building for Health and Mental Wellness: Testing a Peer-Led Stress Management Intervention with Latino Immigrants

Latino immigrants experience considerable physical and mental health disparities and are the racial group with the highest level of reported stress. There is a well-established link between high levels of stress and worse physical and mental health including higher rates of major depressive disorder, anxiety, and substance abuse. Compared to well-established immigration destinations, Latino immigrants in nontraditional cities such as Cincinnati can face even higher rates of discrimination and social exclusion, both of which have been linked to worse mental well-being and higher rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. A recent study confirmed that Latino immigrants in Cincinnati reporting lower perceived social acceptance had worse self-reported mental health. Further compounding the problem is the systems issue of very few Spanish-speaking mental health providers (psychologists, therapists, counselors) in Cincinnati. In partnership with Latinos Unidos por la Salud (LU-Salud), we propose to address two aims: test the effectiveness of the adapted peer-led group LU-Salud Intervention in improving coping and building a sense of community; establish that coping and community support are linked to improved mental health and well-being for Latino immigrants. In addition, we will conduct a process evaluation to establish the adapted intervention’s fidelity, acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility.

If You Can See It, You Can Be It: Diverse Role Models, Tapping New Resources, & Integrating Intercultural Development Across the Health Professions

While the push for healthcare workforce diversity is slowly paying off for white women, there are still significant race, ethnicity, economic status, age, and disability gaps across the health professions. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported that 51.6% of medical school applicants were primarily white women in 2018, while the number of Black female medical students decreased. In addition, data indicates that people with disabilities make up between 0.3 and 2.7% of medical school students. Addressing the lack of diverse role models, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been proposed. There are many pipeline programs that focus on recruiting healthcare workforce diversity and provide financial assistance across the country. However, students are unaware of these opportunities and the wide network of “go-to” people are on campus to support them. Lastly, research efforts question “cultural competency” terminology that essentializes entire groups of people into certain characteristics and presumes one can become fully competent in another person’s culture. The specific aims of this project is to embed the “if you can see it, you can be it” philosophy into the academic curriculum and by intentionally enlisting diverse healthcare professionals like African American nurses, Latino doctors, people in dentistry who identify as LGBTQ, to be speakers, host a Next Lives Here: Healthcare Workforce Diversity Symposium, and integrate intercultural development into coursework.