Document text
Principal Investigator: Paige Turner Johnson
Organization: UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $256,878
Funding agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Project Summary/Abstract
This innovative project will replicate the successful Health Sciences & Technology Academy from West
Virginia, with important adaptations for our purposes, in rural Alabama (AL). This adaption will be called Health
Sciences & Technology Academy-Alabama (HSTA-AL). The long-term goal of this project is to build a more
diverse nursing, nurse faculty, nurse scientist and other biomedical professions workforce from among rural,
underserved, primarily African American, economically disadvantaged high school students in AL who will
become the first in their families to graduate from college. This goal will be accomplished by implementing the
HSTA-AL program to provide professional development to teachers designed to help teachers build science
content and pedagogical skills. Teachers will then guide students toward STEM fields by helping them learn to
conduct citizen science. These teachers can also transfer their learned skills for use in teaching other high
school students. To teach research skills to teachers and students, we will focus on conditions including
obesity and related cardiovascular conditions, risk behaviors, and opioid use that disproportionately affect
underserved AL communities. It is anticipated that through HSTA-AL activities, health literacy will be built
among the students and community members in these rural counties. The specific aims for this project are to 1.
Establish community led leadership teams comprised of 100% community members in each rural county
partner, and a joint leadership team for the state comprised of at least 51% community members to promote
community ownership of the HSTA-AL program. 2. Provide annual professional development for 5 teachers
and 5 preservice teachers per year across targeted communities for the purpose of promoting science and
research skills for HSTA-AL and other students to increase the pipeline of high school graduates from rural
areas into university STEM education, some of whom will choose nursing. 3. Provide summer camps annually
for 50 students to promote interest and skills needed for engagement in citizen science addressing issues
related to health disparities in rural AL and to promote exposure to the university environment, near-peer
mentors, STEM education, nurses, nursing education opportunities, advanced nursing degrees, nursing
science, and other biomedical professions. 4. Provide a club experience led by teachers for 95 high school
students across 5 years for the purpose of exposing students to STEM fields in general, nursing, and nursing
science by engaging students in community-based participatory research /citizen science addressing issues
related to health disparities in their communities. 5. Compare the outcomes of HSTA-AL to HSTA for
psychometric measures known to predict workforce development in biomedical fields to determine if replication
of the HSTA program in a rural, primarily African American, economically disadvantaged population is feasible
and effective. If HSTA-AL achieves similar outcomes to HSTA in West Virginia, we plan to expand this program
across AL and seek funding to support HSTA-AL students’ college and graduate school education.
Terms: <2 year college><9th grade><Academia><Academy><Address><Affect><African American><Afro American><Afroamerican><Alabama><Ally><American><Apis><Area><Black><Black race><Cardiovascular><Cardiovascular Body System><Cardiovascular Diseases><Cardiovascular Organ System><Cardiovascular system><Clinical Faculty><Clinical Nurse Educator><Collaborations><Communities><County><Creativeness><Decision Making><Development><Discipline of Nursing><Economically Deprived><Economically Deprived Population><Education><Educational aspects><Educational process of instructing><Educational workshop><Effectiveness><Environment><Ethnic Origin><Ethnicity><Exposure to><Family><Family dynamics><Funding><Future Teacher><Geographic Area><Geographic Locations><Geographic Region><Geographical Location><Goals><Health><Health Care Technology><Health Sciences><Health Technology><Healthcare><Healthcare Technology><Heart Vascular><High School Student><Infrastructure><Interpersonal Communication><Joints><Leadership><Learning><Learning Skill><Life Experience><Measures><Mentors><Minority><Modeling><NIGMS><National Institute of General Medical Sciences><Nurse Educator><Nurses><Nursing><Nursing Education><Nursing Faculty><Nursing Field><Nursing Profession><Nursing Staff Developer><Nursing Staff Development Specialist><Obesity><Obesity associated cardiovascular disease><Obesity related cardiovascular disease><Outcome><Ownership><Patient outcome><Patient-Centered Outcomes><Patient-Focused Outcomes><Patients><Personal Communication><Persons><Population><Preparedness><Preservice teacher><Prevention><Psychometrics><Race><Races><Readiness><Research><Research Resources><Resources><Risk Behaviors><Risky Behavior><Rural><Rural Community><STEM Education><STEM class><STEM course><STEM discipline><STEM field><STEM knowledge><STEM major><Science><Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education><Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education><Scientist><Secondary School Student><Secondary Student><Students><Teaching><Testing><Time><Universities><West Virginia><Workforce Development><Workshop><adiposity><amateur science><amateur scientists><at risk behavior><biomedical profession><cardiovascular disorder><career><circulatory system><citizen science><citizen scientists><civic science><college><college student><collegiate><community based participatory research><community college><community led research><community participatory research><community partnered participatory research><corpulence><creativity><crowd science><crowd-sourced science><design><designing><developmental><disparity in health><economic disparity><economically deprived group><economically deprived people><economically disadvantaged><economically disadvantaged group><economically disadvantaged individual><economically disadvantaged people><economically disadvantaged population><empowerment><enthusiastic atmosphere><enthusiastic environment><ethnic minority group><ethnic minority individual><ethnic minority people><ethnic minority population><experience><falls><family structure/dynamics><future faculty><geographic site><graduate school><group of color><hatching><health care><health disparity><health literacy><high school><high school freshman><high schoolers><improved><individual of color><innovate><innovation><innovative><interest><junior college><member><ninth grade><nurse><opiate consumption><opiate drug use><opiate intake><opiate use><opioid abuse prevention><opioid consumption><opioid drug use><opioid intake><opioid use><participatory action research><patient oriented outcomes><peer coaching><peer instruction><peer led team learning><peer mentoring><peer teaching><people of color><person of color><population of color><pre-service teacher><prevent opioid abuse><programs><racial><racial background><racial minority group><racial minority individual><racial minority people><racial minority population><racial origin><recruit><rural area><rural counties><rural dwelling><rural households><rural location><rural region><rural residence><rural under served><rural underserved><scale up><science, technology, engineering and math class><science, technology, engineering and math course><science, technology, engineering and math discipline><science, technology, engineering and math field><science, technology, engineering and math knowledge><science, technology, engineering and math major><science, technology, engineering and mathematics class><science, technology, engineering and mathematics course><science, technology, engineering and mathematics discipline><science, technology, engineering and mathematics field><science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge><science, technology, engineering and mathematics major><scientific citizenship><skills><statistics><student engagement><student motivation><student participation><student teacher><summer institute><supportive atmosphere><supportive environment><teacher><theories><two year college><under served area><under served community><under served geographic area><under served location><under served region><underclass><underserved area><underserved community><underserved geographic area><underserved location><underserved region><university student>