Infusing Equity Into Undergraduate Education Through Public Health Research Methods Training

Abstract

The undergraduate public health student body in the United States is increasingly diverse. The University of Washington Public Health-Global Health Major students are typically 80% Black, Indigenous, or people of color and 40% first-generation college students. Many students lack finances to accept unpaid research internships to further their careers following graduation. To address this equity issue, we embedded experiential learning into a required research course, ensuring all students gain practical, transferable public health research skills. In our large (>100 upper-level students) active-learning course, students design and conduct a complete cross-sectional study in one 10-week term. Using a flipped classroom approach, each instructor and teaching assistant coaches four groups of students to apply pre-recorded didactic lessons on each step of the research process to their study. Student groups complete highly structured deliverables during class and receive feedback twice weekly. Multiple, low-stakes assignments encourage individual learning. Daily group work culminates in two large assignments: a research protocol and report. As a result of this course, every graduate of our program—regardless of socioeconomic position—has at least one in-depth research experience on their resume. We have applied this teaching format 17 times over 7 years, reaching over 2,000 students. Graduates state that this class helped them obtain employment and prepared them for public health graduate studies. This course’s highly structured active-learning methods, including dedicated coaching and incremental, cumulative assignments, supports the undergraduate classroom as a space for promoting equity and preparing students for future employment and graduate education.