Educational Attainment and Educational Contexts as Social Determinants of Health.

Research demonstrates that nearly all health outcomes are patterned by level of education. Specifically, adults with lower educational attainment report more chronic conditions, more functional limitations, and worse overall health. In addition to affecting educational attainment, schools provide an important context in which students spend a substantial portion of their time. Because access to salutogenic school environments, as well as opportunities for educational attainment and advancement are themselves unequal, education is considered a social determinant of health. In this article, we explore the relationships between educational attainment and health. We also emphasize the importance of educational contexts as determinants of health that precede educational attainment and contribute to related health outcomes. Finally, we discuss implications for primary care practitioners and their efforts to address disparities in health and education.

Network Analysis for Formative Evaluation of Collaborative, Team Science Research Partnerships.

Cancer health disparities persist across the cancer care continuum despite decades of effort to eliminate them. Among the strategies currently used to address these disparities are multi-institution research initiatives that engage multiple stakeholders and change efforts. Endemic to the theory of change of such programs is the idea that collaboration-across institutions, research disciplines, and academic ranks-is necessary to improve outcomes. Despite this emphasis on collaboration, however, it is not often a focus of evaluation for these programs and others like them. In this paper we describe a method for evaluating collaboration within the Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership using network analysis. Specifically, we used network analysis of co-authorship on academic publications to visualize the growth and patterns of scientific collaboration across partnership institutions, research disciplines, and academic ranks over time. We presented the results of the network analysis to internal and external advisory groups, creating the opportunity to discuss partnership collaboration, celebrate successes, and identify opportunities for improvement. We propose that basic network analysis of existing data along with network visualizations can foster conversation and feedback and are simple and effective ways to evaluate collaboration initiatives.

Longitudinal Education and Career Outcomes of a Cancer Research Training Program for Underrepresented Students: The Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership.

This study examined longitudinal education and career outcomes of the Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership, the longest-running National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Partnerships in Advancing Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) program site in the United States. Degree completion rates were calculated and progression along the entire postsecondary "pipeline" was quantified for 204 participants recruited between 2011 and 2020. For participants who had entered the workforce, career outcomes were also analyzed. Relative to comparison data, participants completed degrees and progressed through the higher education "pipeline" to earn advanced degrees at remarkably high rates; the majority entered careers in which they support or conduct cancer research. The latter is important, because most participants identify with demographic categories currently underrepresented in the cancer research workforce. This article makes two contributions to knowledge on research training programs for underrepresented students: 1) it quantifies participants' progression along the entire postsecondary education pipeline as well as into the workforce, and 2) it identifies points where participants are most prone to exit the pipeline rather than progress. We identify two types of exits-permanent and temporary-and offer empirically supported operational definitions for both. Evaluators may find the quantitative model and/or definitions useful for analyzing similar programs.