An Intervention to Improve Well-Being in African American Medical Students

描述(由申请人提供)：本研究的主要目的是使用实验设计来测试自我肯定干预在多大程度上保护和改善黑人医学生的心理健康。这项研究是一个更大的研究项目的一部分，该项目旨在通过减少白人医学生的偏见来减少医疗保健方面的种族差异，推动这项研究的原因是，在如何改善黑人医疗专业人员的招聘以及提高黑人医疗专业人员的成功和留住方面，证据基础存在相当大的差距。少数族裔患者受益于不同的医疗专业人员，医学研究所关于不平等待遇的报告建议增加黑人医生的数量，作为减少差异的一种方式。然而，初步证据表明，从医学院开始，黑人医学生比白人医学生更有可能经历包括歧视和刻板印象威胁在内的一系列脆弱性(一种被证明具有有害影响的心理状态，因为意识到一个人的群体可能会因为刻板印象而受到负面评价)。黑人医学生经历的独特压力源可能会导致医学生健康结果的差异。此外，压力是导致医学院课程中记录的负面变化的因素之一，包括犬儒主义增加，同理心减少，理想主义减少，与患者形成人际关系和为医疗服务不足的人提供护理方面的重要性降低。对于保护和促进黑人医学生福祉的策略，很少有方法论上的严格测试。本研究将确定自我肯定干预在减少刻板印象威胁和改善黑人医学生心理健康方面是否有效。这里正在测试的干预措施将为改善黑人学生的幸福感提供一个低成本和易于实施的战略。这项研究的发现将有助于未来的干预策略，以提高未被充分代表的医学生的心理健康和对未得到充分服务的人的护理质量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary aim of the proposed study is to use an experimental design to test the degree to which a self-affirmation intervention protects and improves the mental health of Black medical students. This study is part of a larger program of research intended to reduce racial disparities in health care by reducing bias in White medical students, and is driven by a sizeable gap in the evidence base regarding ways to improve the recruitment and increase the success and retention of Black medical professionals. Minority patients benefit from a diverse pool of medical professionals, and The Institute on Medicine's report on Unequal Treatment recommended increasing the number of Black physicians as one way to reduce disparities. Yet, preliminary evidence suggests that, from the start of medical school, Black medical students are more likely than their White counterparts to experience a number of vulnerabilities including discrimination and stereotype threat (a psychological state with proven deleterious effects that is created by awareness that one's group may be judged negatively because of a stereotype). The unique stressors experienced by Black medical students may contribute to disparities on medical student health outcomes. Furthermore, stress is among the contributors to documented negative changes over the course of medical school including increased cynicism, reduced empathy, reduced idealism, and less importance placed in forming interpersonal relationships with patients and on providing care for the medically underserved. There have been very few methodologically rigorous tests of strategies for protecting and promoting the well-being of Black medical students. This study will determine whether a self-affirmation intervention is effective at reducing stereotype threat and improving the psychological well- being of Black medical students. The intervention being tested here would provide a low-cost and easy-to-implement strategy for improving Black students' well-being. Findings from this study will help with future intervention strategies to increase underrepresented medical students' psychological well-being and quality of care for the underserved.