CUMU Conference 2019

Three multidisciplinary faculty (Nursing, Sociology, History) formed a partnership with the belief that preparing students in the health professions and social sciences to become more holistic healthcare providers and better public policy advocates includes engaging in small-scale interventions that include multidisciplinary community-engaged (CE) research. Working over two academic years, we created a student-focused voluntary mentoring intervention in maternal and child health (13 nursing, 2 social science) designed to explore whether a diversified research experience (CE, multidisciplinary mentoring) increase cultural sensitivity and/or desire to work in underserved communities; assess how exposure to multidisciplinary, CE research at the bachelor’s level may have encouraged plans for graduate study; and explore students’ overall experiences with the CE research process. Each student participated in a variety of mentored research experiences including multidisciplinary workshops introducing discipline-specific research methodologies, involvement in every stage of CE research, spending time in the local community to see firsthand how health inequities are manifested, and social determinants of health at work. Using qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and pre- and post- experience writing exercises, we established the following learning outcomes for our students: 1) exposing students to multidisciplinary, CE research positively impacted learning and understanding related to individual health of community members in the broader social context, 2) students reported increased interest in working with persons in underserved communities related to their experience, and 3) student engagement in CE research appears to have increased interest in pursuing graduate degrees.