Why Minorities Avoid Allied Health Professions

Abstract

The participants in this study supply some of the reasons minority individuals do not apply, enter, or graduate from an "Allied Health Profession." Persons who were chosen for this project represent minority individuals at the high school level who may or may not have considered entering a healthcare vocation. The individuals were enrolled at Northwestern Community High School where a traditional curriculum of math, science and English is offered as the main courses of study in preparation for attendance at a four year institution. The Genesee Area Skill Center is a "vocational/technical" institution with the specific goal of producing an individual prepared to enter the work force upon graduation. Students at this institution were enrolled in a curriculum geared to a healthcare profession, i.e., nursing or medical assistant. This was a one time only study with participants providing answers to a survey prepared by the evaluator to ascertain their interest in a healthcare profession and the reasons they choose the specific educational institution they, the Director of Research for the Flint Board of Education and the principals of the two schools, Northwestern Community High School and the Genesee Area Skill Center, agreed to allow the students to participate in this survey. An extensive review of the literature does not yield any evidence of the cause of the lack of people of color in the aforementioned arena. It was this specific lack of evidence which drove the desire to find the similarities, differences between the institutions and the tw o sets of individuals which would demonstrate the reasons minorities do/do not want to become members of specific Allied Health Professions. Therefore, it was the author's belief that once these reasons were uncovered, based on these deductions, measures could be taken to encourage minority individuals to seek entry into healthcare sciences/professions.