Advancing health equity through the development of a scholars training program in implementation science

Approaches to achieving health equity in implementation science are critical to ameliorating disparities resulting from social, economic, and racial injustices. The field needs to grow transdisciplinary tools, processes, and increased workforce capacity to lead health equity research, particularly among scholars from groups that are underrepresented in science. This project, perhaps the first of its kind, used mixed methods to develop and pilot a robust, actionable model for mentoring and training to advance health equity in implementation science.

To inform the content and design, we conducted concept mapping with implementation science and equity researchers (N = 69) and qualitative one-on-one interviews with leaders (N = 6) and past trainees (N = 14) of established programs with a health equity or disparities focus. We piloted the training among 17 scholars (100% underrepresented in science, 88% women) over 2.5 days. It followed engagement and active learning principles with small group discussions, speed mentoring, problem-based learning, and peer-to-peer teaching.

Concept mapping identified priority competencies of engaging the community, equity-relevant methods, cultural humility, and mentoring to integrate into the training. Interviewees discussed the importance of designing the program based on participants' needs. Therefore, we added a pre-program survey to determine scholars' priorities. Interviewees emphasized the importance of having presenters from underrepresented backgrounds discuss their journeys and opportunities to learn equity content from other scholars, which informed a panel of junior investigators on navigating academia. They recommended including presentations led by community members, historical perspectives on health equity, and equity-focused methods, which informed a community engagement and measurement lecture co-led by an academic-community partnership. Scholars identified mentorship opportunities, a supportive environment, diverse perspectives of scholars and faculty, and engaging discussions as program strengths.

This study applied a user-informed, data-driven approach to designing an implementation science training that prioritizes the interests of diverse scholars. We identified curriculum competencies and processes to build capacity for an implementation science workforce that centers on equity.