Comprehensive strategy for increasing diversity in public health

Demographic trends indicate that nonwhite racial and ethnic groups will be in the majority before the end of the 21st century. The representation of these groups in the health professions workforce, however, lags far behind the general population. The profound gap between the racial and ethnic makeup of the health professions workforce and the general population is a major societal concern. This report presents a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy for increasing racial and ethnic diversity in California's health professions and for maximizing the benefits of diversity for all participants in health-related training, practice, and research. The conference presentation will focus on how the comprehensive strategy applies to the public health profession, specifically. This strategy is the outcome of the California Initiative for Diversity in the Health Professions project directed by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health and the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA. In order to create such a strategy, the project team engaged in several separate inquiries: an exploratory study of the benefits of diversity; a quantitative assessment of current and future trends in health professions diversity in California; key informant interviews concerning issues, obstacles, and opportunities in increasing health professions diversity; the identification of current exemplary practices; and an extensive review of the existing literature. The contribution of each inquiry to the creation of the comprehensive strategy will be discussed as well as the strategy's applicability to other states.