Project Grant T5246767

PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM - ADDRESS: 126 PARK AVENUE, BRIDGEPORT, CT 06604 PROJECT DIRECTOR NAME: MEREDITH GAFFNEY, MPH CONTACT PHONE NUMBER: 203-576-4111 EMAIL ADDRESS: MGAFFNEY@BRIDGEPORT.EDU WEBSITE ADDRESS: HTTPS://WWW.BRIDGEPORT.EDU/ACADEMICS/PROGRAMS/PUBLIC-HEALTH-MPH/ FUNDS REQUESTED: $1,500,000 FUNDING PREFERENCE REQUESTED: YES THE MASTER'S OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM, UNDER THE UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT'S COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES PROPOSES THE SCHOLARS PROJECT (STUDENTS CREATING HEALTHIER OUTCOMES IN LOCAL AREAS AND REGIONS) WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF DIVERSE, CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY COMPETENT PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT AND THE NATION. THE MPH ONLINE CURRICULUM OCCUPIES SIX SEVEN-WEEK TERMS PER YEAR AND CONSISTS OF 42 SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 33 CORE CREDITS AND 9 CONCENTRATION CREDITS. THE FINAL COMPONENT INCLUDES A PRACTICUM, COMPLETED AT A PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATION. PARTNERSHIPS WITH DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS ARE VITAL TO PROVIDING THIS FIELD EXPERIENCE. GRADUATES ARE OFTEN ABLE TO TRANSITION INTO EMPLOYMENT IN THE SAME ORGANIZATIONS WHERE THEY COMPLETED THEIR PRACTICA. THUS, THEY ARE ABLE TO HELP FILL EMPLOYMENT NEEDS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR. MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING CURRICULUM, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS, AND DATA TO POLICY WORKSHOPS WILL BE ADDED TO MPH CURRICULUM TO ENHANCE STUDENTS' ABILITY TO APPLY ACADEMIC CONCEPTS TO REAL-WORLD PUBLIC HEALTH SCENARIOS. OBJECTIVES FOR THE SCHOLARS PROJECT OVER THE PROJECT PERIOD (9/30/2022-9/29/2025) ARE: - ENHANCE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE BY STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO IDENTIFY EMPLOYMENT NEEDS, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, FACILITATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS' EMPLOYMENT POST-TRAINING COMPLETION IN STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. - EDUCATE THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE TO ADDRESS PUBLIC HEALTH INEQUITIES AND HEALTH DISPARITIES AND INCORPORATE PRINCIPLES OF SDOH INTO PRACTICE - EDUCATE THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE TO PREVENT, PREPARE FOR, AND RESPOND TO RECOVERY ACTIVITIES RELATED TO COVID-19 AS WELL AS OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES BY PROVIDING FIELD EXPERIENCE BASED ON SPRING 2022 DATA, THE MAJORITY OF UB'S 169 MPH STUDENTS (80%) ARE FROM THE TRI-STATE AREA (CT, NY, AND NJ). NEARLY TWO-THIRDS (60%) IDENTIFY AS PEOPLE OF COLOR, 42% AS BLACK/NON-HISPANIC, 14% AS HISPANIC/LATINX. 4% AS ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER. A TOTAL OF 46% OF STUDENTS ARE UNDER 30 YEARS OLD, WITH THE AVERAGE STUDENT AGE BEING 34 YEARS OLD. EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT (83%) OF STUDENTS SELF-IDENTIFY AS FEMALE, AND 16% IDENTIFY AS MALE. MOST MPH STUDENTS ALREADY WORK IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR AND ENROLL IN THE MPH PROGRAM TO FURTHER THEIR CREDENTIALS TO ATTAIN MORE LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. NATIONALLY, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS REVEALING A HISTORIC UNDERINVESTMENT IN THE COUNTRY'S PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE. TO REBUILD THE COUNTRY'S PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM, HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AT BOTH STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS MUST HIRE AT LEAST 80,000 MORE FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS (AN INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY 80%) [5]. THIS DAUNTING NUMBER OF NEW PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS REQUIRES PRIORITIZING PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION WITH SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES (CLAS). FACTORS THAT PREVENT PEOPLE IN THE GREATEST NEED OF HEALTHCARE FROM ACCESSING IT INCLUDE A LACK OF HIGH-QUALITY HEALTHCARE, PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION DURING CLINICAL ENCOUNTERS, AND DIFFICULTY ACCESSING CULTURALLY COMPETENT CARE [6]. SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE PROVIDED TO FORTY STUDENTS PER YEAR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT'S MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (MPH) PROGRAM WHO EXHIBIT FINANCIAL NEED AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE DURING EACH YEAR OF THE PROJECT. IN TOTAL, SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE AWARDED TO 120 STUDENTS. THE SCHOLARS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THE NEED TO REPLENISH THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE WITH DIVERSE, CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY COMPETENT, SKILLED PUBLIC