Virtual Mentoring to Enhance Diversity of the Mental Health Research Workforce

描述（由申请人提供）：我们的VNED的长期目标是创建一个研究自杀预防的心理健康研究人员骨干，他们是不同人群的成员或有兴趣与他们合作。要做到这一点，需要吸引具有这些背景和兴趣的早期职业调查人员，并为他们提供成功的学术生涯所需的指导，知识和技能。我们的第一个目标是让不同人群的成员参与科学事业，支持他们研究与其社区相关的重大公共卫生问题，如自杀。我们的第二个目标是探索吸引人们参与虚拟和面对面活动的创新方法，这些活动将鼓励和支持指导，研究合作和培训经验。提供培育、咨询和支持的最具成本效益和效率的方式是通过使用虚拟技术来补充更传统的面对面接触，即创建一个虚拟网络。 这项建议的具体目标是：（1）招募一批由导师和门徒组成的预防自杀研究小组;（2）为每个门徒制定一个学术发展计划，以反映所有小组成员的预期参与和贡献;（三）通过旨在传播有关自杀研究现状的内容的活动，提供体验学习的机会，人口;以及（4）评估网络招募、保留和教育其成员的有效性，从而发展一个强大的支持性自杀研究者虚拟社区，代表美国人口的异质性。可衡量的结果是产生两个网络研讨会系列，网络成员提交一份手稿，概述了不同人群自杀研究的经验教训，每个门徒构建一个深思熟虑的研究建议大纲和个性化的ADP，并为门徒和导师参加F2 F焦点小组会议。由此产生的指导网络将提供基础设施，以促进与代表美国人口多样性的地理上分散的自杀研究科学家的学习和参与。 公共卫生相关性：通过具体的虚拟和面对面的互动程序，职业发展机会，以及量身定制的指导来自不同背景的VNED保护者将开发必要的技能和知识，以建立一个职业生涯在一个主要的公共卫生问题的研究：自杀在不同的人群。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our long-term goal for the VNED is to create a cadre of mental health researchers studying suicide prevention who are members of, or interested in working with, diverse populations. To do so requires attracting early career investigators with these backgrounds and interests, and providing them with the mentorship, knowledge, and skills needed for successful academic careers. Our first objective is to engage members of diverse populations in the scientific enterprise by supporting their study of a major public health problem of relevance to their communities, such as suicide. Our second is to explore innovative ways of drawing people into virtual and face-to-face activities that will encourage and support mentoring, research collaborations and training experiences. The most cost-effective and efficient way to provide nurturing, consultation and support is through the use of virtual technologies to supplement more traditional, face-to- face (F2F) encounters; that is, to create a virtual network. The specific aims of this proposal are (1) to recruit a critical mass of suicide prevention research teams consisting of mentors and proteges; (2) to create an Academic Development Plan (ADP) for each protege that reflects expected participation and contributions by all the team members; (3) to provide opportunities for experiential learning through activities designed to disseminate content on the current state of suicide research in diverse populations; and (4) to evaluate the effectiveness of the network to recruit, retain and educate its members and thereby develop a robust supportive virtual community of suicide researchers that represent the heterogeneity of the US population. Measurable outcomes are to produce two webinar series, for network members to submit a manuscript outlining lessons learned with regards to suicide research with diverse populations, for each protege to construct a well thought out research proposal outline and an individualized ADP, and for the proteges and mentors to participate in a F2F focus group session. This resulting mentoring network will provide the infrastructure to facilitate learning and engagement with geographically-dispersed suicide research scientists who represent the diversity in the US population. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Through specific virtual and face-to-face interactive programs, career development opportunities, and tailored mentoring VNED proteges from diverse backgrounds will develop skills and knowledge necessary for establishing a career in the study of a major public health concern: suicide in diverse populations.