Advancing Health Equity through Student Empowerment and Professional Success

Purposes/Aims.  The purpose of the Advancing Health Equity through Student Empowerment & Professional Success (HealthE STEPS) program is to address social determinants of health (SDH) to enroll, empower, and graduate nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including underrepresented ethnic and racial minority populations and in particular Hispanics, to improve health equity within their communities through professional nursing practice.

Rationale/Background.  There is a relative lack of diversity in the nursing workforce in the nation and in Oregon and this gap has been identified by state leaders as contributing to health inequity.  Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing (SON) is the only public nursing school in Oregon, and has baccalaureate programs on 5 campuses and partnerships with community colleges through the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education. The SON is implementing HealthE STEPS, with long term goals of providing career opportunities in nursing for disadvantaged and underserved students and reducing health disparities statewide.

Brief description of the undertaking.  This innovative model provides a comprehensive plan of evidence-based individual strategies to improve nursing workforce diversity and build capacity to advance health equity in the state of Oregon by focusing on the following social determinants contributing to student success: 1) educational opportunity; 2) economic stability; 3) socioeconomic opportunity; 4) social inclusion; and, 5) health equity.  Specific strategies address academic socialization, financial resources, community and professional networking and mentoring, curriculum development, and campus culture.  Recruitment activities are developed in partnership with local campus recruiters and community partners serving disadvantaged youth. Two bilingual diversity coordinators provide case management for trainees in pre-nursing, community college nursing, OHSU baccalaureate nursing, and RN-BS completion programs by partnering with students and their families to address identified academic and social barriers. Workshops are provided for faculty to expand teaching-learning strategies that support diverse students.  In addition, trainees participate in focused clinical learning experiences in medically underserved communities.

Outcomes achieved.  HealthE STEPS program sites are located on rural and urban university and community college campuses throughout Oregon. Forty-four pre-nursing and nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in community colleges and colleges throughout Oregon have been enrolled annually in the program.  In addition to financial support, students received individualized mentoring; case management; NCLEX preparation support; and workshops on financial planning, scholarship searching, essay writing, mock interviews for jobs or admission to school and graduate school opportunities. 

Conclusions: The outcomes of HealthE STEPS specifically address increased enrollment and graduation of underrepresented and disadvantaged students in baccalaureate nursing programs; transition of community college graduates into baccalaureate completion programs; progression of graduates into masters/doctoral programs and professional roles as faculty and primary care practitioners; and commitment to nursing careers with underserved communities and populations. The goals and objectives of this program are incorporated into the SON’s Diversity Action Plan with the overarching goal of “Creating a Climate of Diversity and Inclusion” and represent a comprehensive innovative plan of evidenced-based strategies to address health equity through developing a diverse professional nursing workforce to practice in medically underserved communities.