PRECOLLEGE ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS INTENDED TO INCREASE THE REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES IN MEDICINE

The authors reviewed the literature published from 1966 to 1996 to ide ntify enrichment programs for underrepresented minority precollege stu dents sponsored by medical schools and affiliated programs, finding 19 articles describing 27 programs. The authors categorized the reported programs according to the components they contained. Most programs co ntained more than one component type. Twenty-four programs had an acad emic enhancement component. Tyro thirds had a motivational component t o encourage students to consider medical and other health careers, Two programs set up mentoring relationships between students and health p rofessionals, There were four research apprenticeships and three acade mic partnerships between medical schools and local school districts. T welve of the 27 programs were evaluated in the literature. Eight evalu ations focused on identifying the numbers of students who continued th eir education into college and professional schools. Five programs rep orted participant satisfaction or identified other short-term outcomes such as gains on standardized tests. While the percentage of particip ants completing college and entering health care careers is impressive , the authors do not believe that the educational success of participa nts can be attributed to involvement in these programs.The authors rec ommend ways to improve the quality and interpretability of enrichment program evaluations. Evaluators should adopt common terminology for ac tivities and outcomes. Participants' economic and educational disadvan tages should be described. Programs' theoretical underpinnings should be identified and related to evaluation. Measures should include immed iate effects as well as long-term outcomes. Where possible, data from comparison groups should be reported to support conclusions. Adequate funding needs to be available to design and complete reasonable evalua tions.