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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Francisco Soto Mas, MD, PhD, MPH¹, Holly E. Jacobson, PhD², Allen Jackson, EdD², and Chiehwen Ed Hsu, PhD, MPH³. (1) Teacher Eucation Department, University of Texas at El Paso, College of Education, El Paso, TX 79968-0574, (2) Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion & Recreation, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 310769, Denton, TX 76203-0769, 817-763-5701, hjacobson@coe.unt.edu, (3) Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, 2387 HHP Building, Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742

Increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce has been identified as an effective approach for addressing health disparities. Participation and Training in Health Science (Project PATHS) is aimed at increasing the representation of Latino students in health professions. Objectives include increasing the number of students reporting interest in health professions and taking college entrance exams. The study design was based on a theoretical framework which incorporates Social Learning Theory and the Transtheoretical Model. A theory-based survey instrument was developed and validated for the collection of data. This paper reports on the factors that were found to be related to students' interest in college and health professions. A total of 758 high school students completed the survey. Results indicate that self-efficacy, adult influence, outcome expectations and peer influence were highly correlated (reliability coefficient >.70) to students' positive interest in college and health careers. Factors with weak correlation included reinforcement from parents and teachers, and external barriers such as money, legal status and college location. Results will contribute to the development of interventions for improving the education of Latinos, and to the elimination of health disparities by increasing the representation of Latinos in health professions. PATHS is supported by a community-academia collaborative partnership between the Dallas Independent School District and the University of North Texas.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Identify a recommended approach for decreasing health disparities
• Describe the factors that may be related to Latino students’ interest in college
• Outline a program/intervention for encouraging Latino students to go to college

Keywords: Health Disparities, Behavioral Research

Related Web page: www.paths.unt.edu/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation