Launching the Health Equity Academic Research in Pediatric Hospital Medicine (HEAR-PHM) Program

As a young and rapidly evolving subspecialty, pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) has an opportunity to develop programs to promote health equity and become a leader in health equity research for the acute-care setting. Our innovative research education program, Health Equity Academic Research in Pediatric Hospital Medicine (HEAR-PHM), is a vehicle for this development. This report will describe the HEAR-PHM program and the scholarship interests of the program scholars.

The HEAR-PHM program uses a cohort-based approach and has 3 core components: (1) didactic, small group learning with health equity experts; (2) hands-on capstone research project with peer and faculty support; and (3) peer networking and community building to foster health equity researchers within PHM. We developed and distributed a Scholarship Needs Assessment using the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) framework and analyzed data using descriptive statistics.

The HEAR-PHM inaugural cohort launched in September 2024 with 14 scholars from 11 academic institutions around the country. The Scholarship Needs Assessment had a 92.85% completion rate (n = 13) with responses from 5 pediatric hospital medicine fellows (38.5%), 1 clinical instructor (7.7%), and 7 assistant professors (53.8%). Using NIMHD framework, scholars showed a strong interest in the sociocultural environment and health care system domains of influence, specifically focusing on the community and interpersonal levels of influence.

As a growing pediatric specialty, understanding the areas of health equity scholarship within the PHM community may help us develop innovative collaboratives, networks, and partnerships to advance health equity work to improve health outcomes.