The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Consortium: A Blueprint for Inclusive Excellence

Elizabeth O. Ofili, Daniel Sarpong, Richard Yanagihara, Paul B. Tchounwou, Emma Fernández-Repollet, Mohamad Malouhi, Muhammed Y. Idris, Kimberly Lawson, Nadine H. Spring and Brian M. Rivers
Additional contact information
Elizabeth O. Ofili: Community Health and Preventive Medicine and the RCMI Coordinating Center, Departments of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
Daniel Sarpong: Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities for Research and Education, College of Pharmacy, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA 70125, USA
Richard Yanagihara: Department of Pediatrics, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Paul B. Tchounwou: RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39217, USA
Emma Fernández-Repollet: Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936, USA
Mohamad Malouhi: RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39217, USA
Muhammed Y. Idris: Community Health and Preventive Medicine and the RCMI Coordinating Center, Departments of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
Kimberly Lawson: Community Health and Preventive Medicine and the RCMI Coordinating Center, Departments of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
Nadine H. Spring: Community Health and Preventive Medicine and the RCMI Coordinating Center, Departments of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
Brian M. Rivers: Community Health and Preventive Medicine and the RCMI Coordinating Center, Departments of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: The Research Centers in Minority Institutions, (RCMI) Program was established by Congress to address the health research and training needs of minority populations, by preparing future generations of scientists at these institutions, with a track record of producing minority scholars in medicine, science, and technology. The RCMI Consortium consists of the RCMI Specialized Centers and a Coordinating Center (CC). The RCMI-CC leverages the scientific expertise, technologies, and innovations of RCMI Centers to accelerate the delivery of solutions to address health disparities in communities that are most impacted. There is increasing recognition that the gap in representation of racial/ethnic groups and women is perpetuated by institutional cultures lacking inclusion and equity. The objective of this work is to provide a framework for inclusive excellence by developing a systematic evaluation process with common data elements that can track the inter-linked goals of workforce diversity and health equity. At its core, the RCMI Program embodies the trinity of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We propose a realist evaluation framework and a logic model that integrates the institutional context to develop common data metrics for inclusive excellence. The RCMI-CC will collaborate with NIH-funded institutions and research consortia to disseminate and scale this model.

Keywords: RCMI; inclusive excellence; workforce diversity; health equity; realist evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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