Increasing the number of underrepresented high school minorities entering the health information professions

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines the collective and individual outreach efforts of eight medical institutions to increase the number of underrepresented high school minorities (URHSM) entering the health information professions. Setting/Participants/Resources: Librarians and informaticians from eight major medical institutions in the United States formed partnerships with counselors or diversity coordinators from local high schools, thanks to a $640,000 matching grant. Brief Description: Careers in Health Information, Librarianship, and Informatics (CHILI) is a project funded through a three-year grant from the Department of Education and the Institute for Museum and Library Services, awarded in 2005. This paper describes the project, activities, outcomes and post status of this collaborative effort. Results/Outcome: The partnership and collaborative efforts between the eight medical libraries produced fruitful exposure to health information professions for thousands of participants in various degrees of significance, depth, and degrees of success. CHILI incorporated elements found in other successful projects with similar goals. In addition, the invaluable project was captured and readily accessible through the CHILI Website and a CHILI Wiki furthering the project goal to provide outreach to URHSM and their families during the duration of the project and after the project formally ended. Furthermore, lasting positive effects were found in three of the eight medical centers involved. Evaluation Method: Various project tools, reports, and articles were reviewed and three interviews were made to determine the local impact and status of the project. In addition, CHILI’s activities and components were compared with those of successful programs sharing similar goals.