Increasing Diversity in and Equitable Access to Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response: IDEAAL DR2

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Project Summary The deleterious health impacts of disasters exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequities,1 and disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities and the poor.2,3 However, the evidence base guiding our nation’s preparedness and response has been described as “seriously deficient.”4 Research conducted in the aftermath of a disaster is essential to building this evidence base, but is inherently challenging.5–7 Accordingly, an established and trained disaster research workforce is essential.4 However, we are unaware of any training that provides researchers hands-on, experiential training in environmental and public health disaster research methods, nor any with a specific focus on supporting underrepresented minority scholars in this domain. In response, the Increasing Diversity in and Equitable Access to Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response: IDEAAL DR2 program will provide intensive skills-based training in environmental and public health disaster research. We will partner with the Bill Anderson Fund (BAF), the only nonprofit organization that focuses explicitly on supporting underrepresented minority (URM) scholars in hazards and disaster research, to design an inclusive recruitment process and training program. IDEAAL DR2 will train up to 100 early career researchers across the U.S., with an intentional focus on URM scholars, to 1) Increase the knowledge and awareness of environmental and public health disaster research methods and skills among interdisciplinary, early career researchers who are interested in conducting public health-focused hazards and disaster research; and 2) Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in hazards and disaster research by providing access to the necessary training, equipment, technology, and advising to support early-career researchers from historically underrepresented backgrounds in the development and completion of their own research projects. The course will include five modules with pre-course, in-person, and post-course components: 1) foundations of disaster research; 2) community engagement in disaster research, 3) disaster research methods; 4) tools and instrumentation for disaster research; and 5) disaster research design and implementation. For 12 months following the in-person course, Fellows will design and implement an independent disaster research project, leading to a paper of publishable quality, supported by monthly training workshops and peer accountability groups. To circumvent economic and institutional barriers that perpetuate systemic inequities, five URM Fellows annually, recruited in partnership with the BAF, will receive dedicated research advising and financial support for their project. Interdisciplinary program faculty have a strong and long-standing history of collaboration. They will be guided by an advisory committee and results from a rigorous formative and summative evaluation program. Course and evaluation materials will be disseminated broadly through the NIEHS DR2 and NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Resources Portal, and evaluation findings will be shared with NIEHS and through conference presentations and publications.