Health Disparities Investigator Development through a Team-Science Pilot Projects Program

Area of Science:

• Health Disparities Research
• Mentoring Programs
• Community-Engaged Research

Background:

• Significant health disparities persist among Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and Filipinos in Hawai'i.
• A shortage of trained investigators hinders efforts to address the complex factors contributing to these disparities.
• Existing research efforts are limited by a lack of specialized training in genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental influences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a mentoring program designed to train investigators in health disparities research.
• To emphasize the program's focus on community-engaged research principles.
• To evaluate the program's impact on early-career faculty and research productivity.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a team-science approach, a customized Pilot Projects Program (PPP), a Mentoring Bootcamp, and a mentoring support network.
• Review of 102 PPP preproposals received between 2017-2022.
• Analysis of proposal outcomes, award demographics, publication generation, subsequent grant submissions, and return on investment.

Main Results:

• 22 pilot projects were awarded, with 83% supporting early-career faculty (31% ethnic minority, 72% women).
• Awards generated 77 publications and led to 31 new grant awards from 84 submissions, yielding a 5.9 return on investment.
• The program supported 5-11 investigators annually and demonstrated robust usage of core services.

Conclusions:

• The described mentoring program serves as an effective vehicle for supporting early-stage investigators in health disparities research.
• The program successfully fosters community-engaged research and addresses critical needs in training diverse faculty.
• The model demonstrates a significant return on investment and contributes to reducing health disparities.