Barriers and Facilitators To Recruitment and Retention of Minority Students

In Allied Health and Exercise Science

Presented by:

Dr. J. P. BarfieldDr. M. Rhonda Folio

Tennessee Technological University

AAHPERD National Conference, 2010Indianapolis, IN March 17, 2010

The Problem

• Professional allied health positions are part of the largest projected job growth in the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, 2008).

•This field provides training for a variety of professionals, including athletic trainers, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, fitness and wellness professionals.

•Minorities are currently under-represented in multiple allied-health and exercise science based professions and insufficient training of minority students in these fields continues the cycle of under-representation in the workforce (Grumbach & Mendoza, 2008).

Minority Population Growth

•“About one in three U.S. residents is a minority,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon, 2006

•The U. S. Census Bureau has indicated that the U. S. population will increase in minority representation by the year 2030.

•By the year 2030 it is projected that 40% of the U. S. population will consist of minorities (Comely, Haskins, & Ross-St Prix, 1998)

U. S. Population Growth Trends/2006

• Hispanic remained the largest minority group, with 44.3 million on July 1, 2006or 14.8 percent of the total population.

•African American was the second-largest minority group, totaling 40.2 million in 2006.

• They were followed by Asian (14.9 million), American Indian and Alaska Native (4.5 million), and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (1 million).

Risk Factors in Minority Populations

• Certain non-white populations are at greater risk for the following health risk factors:– Hypertension– Certain Cancers– Diabetes– Heart Disease– Overweight & Obesity

Need to Train

• Individuals prefer healthcare services from persons of similar culture and/or ethnicity.

• Minority patients are less apt to follow prescribed diets, health practices, and exercise prescriptions from non-minority health care professionals.

•Insufficient numbers of majors and training of minority students in exercise science and allied health fields contributes to under-representation in the workforce.

•Poor recruitment of minorities into academic programs stems from various sources, ranging from poor career advice to faculty attitudes toward minority students (Urban Institute, 2005).

Group Questions

• What do you view as barriers to allied health enrollment (specific to your school)?

• What efforts, if any, are being implemented to recruit and retain minority students at your institution?

Facilitators

• Mentoring

• Job Worth

• Altruism

• Self-Efficacy

• Knowledge of the Field

Mentoring

• Common influence on allied health enrollment.

• Sources range from family member to high school counselor to faculty member.

• Allied health is not a typical course of study prior to high school; therefore, interpersonal influences are needed.

Job Worth• Income level and job image are important

mediators to enrollment decision making in allied health.

• Level of job compensation affects an individual’s job satisfaction (Zhang, DeMichele, & Connaughton, 2004).

• High market demand, job stability, and employment longevity are all related to earning potentials and therefore have potential to influence students considering allied health enrollment.

Altruism

• The desire to help others has been reported as a key mediating variable.

• This factor may appear self-evident;

however, its identification from survey studies has not been as common as others.

• A desire to help others is important when other personal variables (e.g., job image, knowledge of the field) have been taken into consideration.

Self-Efficacy

• Perceived ability to succeed in the field.

• Academic Success vs. Athletics/Activity Success.

Knowledge of the Field

• Overall understanding of the field appears very influential in student decision making.

• Generally speaking, knowledge of the field has been associated with high tendency to enroll.

• Recruitment strategies.

Barriers• Academic Preparation

• Family Demands

• Affect

• Lack of Recruitment

• Language

• Cost

Academic Preparation• Allied health programs are accredited to meet

certain professional practice standards including specific teacher:student ratios within didactic and clinical settings.

• Ratios inherently increase the competitiveness of allied health programs, placing a greater emphasis on pre-enrollment academic scores (e.g., ACT, SAT, GPA).

• Academic preparation is recommended at early stages in the K-12 process for students interested in allied fields.

Family Demands

• Students pursuing allied health programs may pursue clinical hours during evenings and weekends.

• Students must complete an inordinate amount of clinical hours for minimal academic credit.

• Because of the time commitment, allied health programs can dramatically interfere with family responsibilities.

Affect• Multiple studies have reported isolation, negative

affect or perception of a non-supportive environment as unique barriers to minority students (Dumas-Hines, Cochran, & Williams, 2001; Leverett, Parker, & McDonald, 2007).

• Majority of minority students now educated at predominantly white institutions.

• Insufficient minority faculty and administrators may polarize student integration on campus, increasing the isolation sometimes perceived by minority students.

Lack of Recruitment

• Recruitment programs targeting prospective minority students are lacking at the university level.

• Recruitment deficiencies are especially problematic for transfer students.

• Ineffective transfer agreements (especially regarding clinical hours) are a major barrier.

Language

• English is not the first language for many prospective minority students.

• Most ESL programs are geared toward Spanish-speaking students – other minority students may need English developmental classes.

• Language barriers can lead to isolation and polarization, increasing affect barriers.

Cost

• Cost of programs is a primary inhibitor to student enrollment in various allied health programs

• Equipment requirements and clinical placement costs place an additional funding burden on prospective students.

• The expense for allied health students is much greater than the regular tuition cost and some students simply cannot afford program expense.