Home > Grants Program > Diversity in Health Professions Fact Sheet

FACT SHEET

TCWF Public Education Campaign: Increasing Diversity in the Health Professions
 

The Issue

Health workforce diversity is important to improving the health and wellness of Californians. Many experts believe that a workforce that mirrors the racial and ethnic diversity of California will increase access to care and improve the quality of care that is delivered. Minority health care providers typically provide more care for the poor and uninsured, and more frequently practice in areas with shortages of providers than their nonminority peers. Health workforce diversity also provides increased understanding of minority communities’ health beliefs and methods, enabling better communication that brings an understanding of cultural health beliefs and methods that respect those beliefs into the health care system, which benefits patients and their families. Minority patients consistently rate the quality of their care higher when they receive care from minority health professionals. As such, a more diverse cadre of physicians, nurses, dentists and other health professionals is a crucial strategy for improving the health and wellness of underserved communities.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, no single racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority of California’s population. However, available data clearly indicate that California’s health care workforce fails to reflect the diversity of its population. For example, while one-third of the state’s 36 million residents are Latino, only four percent of doctors, six percent of dentists, and four percent of registered nurses (RNs) in the state are Latino. African-Americans account for six percent of the state’s population but only account for three percent of its doctors, less than two percent of its dentists and four percent of its RNs. Moreover, while some Asian and Asian-American groups are well represented in certain health professions, others are underrepresented. For instance, although the state has more than 65,000 Hmong residents, only a handful of Hmong men and women are physicians.

Despite the clear need for health providers who can deliver culturally competent care, students of color face economic and social barriers to entering and succeeding in the health professions. The complexity involved in identifying and obtaining financial aid, the costs of pursuing health careers and the absence of professional mentors all stand in the way of students successfully pursuing careers in the health field. As a result of these and other factors, students of color are less likely to stay in school, less likely to graduate from college and less likely to be represented in the health professions.

A recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges, which polled students who qualified for medical school but did not apply, found that for students of color, the prohibitive cost of medical school was the primary deterrent for not pursuing medical careers. These data are certainly applicable to California, where the high cost of living compounds student expenses. Moreover, the data indicate that since 1984, the tuition at public and private medical schools has increased 50 percent and 133 percent respectively, making health care careers unaffordable career choice for many California families.

About The Public Education Campaign

In December 2005, the Board of Directors of The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) approved a $1 million grant to Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to implement a public education campaign with two main objectives: to inform policymakers, opinion leaders and the general public that increasing diversity in the health professions is a key strategy for improving the health of the people of California; and to inform underrepresented minority youth about available health profession opportunities. Ogilvy Public Relations was funded to launch the campaign for a one-year period, beginning in 2006. In the judgment of the Foundation, annual proposals may be requested by the Foundation for a total period of up to five years, based upon the performance of the grantee and the effectiveness of the campaign.

The $1 million grant will enable Ogilvy Public Relations to:

• Produce and disseminate a report on the current state of diversity in the health care workforce in collaboration with Field Research Corp.;
• Raise public awareness of the issue with ads on cable television and radio stations, beginning in three key markets: Los Angeles/Inland Empire, the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento;
• Inaugurate a public relations campaign for policymakers and opinion leaders, based on policy recommendations of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce and key stakeholders across California; and
• Launch a “one-stop shopping” website that will provide comprehensive information (career paths, training opportunities by geographic location, scholarships and loans, grants, other financial aid and employment opportunities) about health careers in California.

For more information about the campaign, contact:
Christi W. Black, Managing Director, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
2495 Natomas Park Dr., Suite 650, Sacramento, CA 95833
Telephone: (916) 418-1500 – E-mail: Christi.Black@ogilvypr.com
Website: http://www.ogilvypr.com

Since 2002, TCWF has made more than $15 million in grants to California nonprofits that work to increase diversity in the health professions. The campaign is one component of a comprehensive approach the Foundation uses to address this issue. Another element of this approach is the annual Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award, which recognizes three individuals who have significantly contributed to the diversification of California’s health workforce. Since the inception of the award in 2003, TCWF has honored nine Californians.

Expert Resources

Katherine Flores, M.D
Director, Latino Center for Medical Education and Research, University of California, San Francisco
550 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 210, Fresno, CA 93710
Telephone: (559) 241-7670 – E-mail: kflores@ucsfresno.edu
Website: www.fresno.ucsf.edu

Lonnie R. Bristow, M.D., MACP
Co-chair, The Sullivan Alliance to Transform America's Health Professions
3324 Ptarmigan Dr., Apt. B3, Walnut Creek, CA 94595
Telephone: (925) 933-2733 – E-mail: lonbristow@aol.com
Website: www.jointcenter.org/healthpolicy/commission.php#diversity

Lupe Alonzo-Diaz
Executive Director, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
1225 Eighth St., Suite 500, Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 448-3234 – E-mail: lupe@lchc.org
Website: www.lchc.org

Publications and Resources

“Reflections on Increasing Diversity in the Health Professions”
The California Wellness Foundation
www.tcwf.org/pub_reflections/dec_2005.htm
This issue of Reflections looks at the Foundation's grantmaking in this field; offers lessons learned from grants given to academic preparedness programs, research and advocacy efforts, and leadership development programs; and offers some thoughts on areas for future attention.

Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce
admissions.duhs.duke.edu/sullivancommission/documents/Sullivan_Final_Report_000.pdf
The Sullivan Commission’s extensive examination of workforce diversity culminated in the publication of its report, “Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions,” which describes the scope of the problem and offers specific policy recommendations for increasing the presence of underrepresented minorities in the medical, dental and nursing fields.

“In the Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health Care Workforce”
The Institute of Medicine of National Academics, 2004
www.iom.edu/CMS/3740/4888/18287.aspx
This study, commissioned by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, examines institutional and policy-level strategies for increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. health care workforce.

Center for California Health Workforce Studies, University of California, San Francisco
www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/cchws.html
(415) 476-8181
The Center examines critical issues in the distribution, diversity, supply and competence of health professionals in California and the effects of federal and state policies on these concerns. The website includes a link to its report, “Strategies for Improving the Diversity of the Health Professions.”

“Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care”
Institute of Medicine, 2002
www.nap.edu/catalog/10260.html
Diversification of the health workforce is an important strategy for overcoming persistent disparities in health outcomes, according to this report that examined various factors contributing to these disparities such as bias, prejudice and stereotyping on the part of health care providers.

Issue Spotlight on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
www.kaisernetwork.org/static/spotlight_minorityhealth_index.cfm
This website assembles policy reports and other information on health care workforce diversity and related topics.

The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)
www.oshpd.ca.gov/oshpdKEY/HlthProf.htm
A department of the California Health and Human Services Agency, OSHPD promotes health care accessibility by analyzing leadership in California’s health care infrastructure, promoting the value of a diverse and competent health care workforce, and providing information about health care outcomes.