Rust College Health Explorers Program: Engaging High School Students to Increase Public Health Diversity

Health explorer programs that provide youth opportunities to learn about public health careers, interact with professionals, and engage in health service-learning activities are important to attract underserved students early into public health careers. These programs have proven effective in increasing youths’ knowledge about public health issues; increasing interest in health careers, supporting youths’ entrance and matriculation in 4-year colleges, and positively influencing youths’ long-term pursuit of public health professions. As a result, youth health explorer programs are identified as a viable strategy to increase the pool of future public health professionals from ethnic minority and disadvantaged populations and address the current lack of diversity in Public Health as a discipline.

The Rust College High School Health Explorers Program (HEP) cultivates youths’ interest in public health by offering a college/health career readiness and leadership development program for underserved students in rural Mississippi. HEP introduces students to public health careers & practitioners, offers near-peer mentoring from undergraduate health-related majors & academic counseling and instruction from public health faculty at Rust College, Tennessee State University, University of Memphis and other institutions. Working with school district officials and teachers, HEP makes achieving public health careers a viable goal and provides concrete strategies to help youth succeed.

As a campus-community project engaging high school, undergraduate and graduate students, educators and officials, Public Health researchers and professionals and the community, this project underscores the importance of cultivating youths’ interest in Public Health and how early interventions can effectively support the development of future Public Health leaders.