Programs targeting elementary and middle school-aged children more likely to be canceled<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Aug. 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Medical school diversity pathway programs were substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sonal Batra, M.D., from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and colleagues examined changes in medical school pathway programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 medical school pathway program administrators and academic leaders of U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools.<\/p>\n The researchers found value in community partnerships for sustaining programming, and they found psychosocial support was important for mediating students’ mental health challenges due to COVID-19 and remote learning. In a survey of 112 schools, 94.6 percent had been sponsoring or assisting with pathway programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but 39.6 percent had reduced pathway programs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous year. Compared with older student groups, program cancellations were more likely to be reported in elementary school-aged students (50.0 percent decrease in programming) and middle school-aged students (32.6 percent decrease).<\/p>\n “Ongoing and flexible supports may be needed to sustain these programs,” the authors write. “These findings are timely given recent investments in equity-focused programs to diversify the health workforce.”<\/p>\n