Over the course of the past several decades there have been tremendous advances in the field of medical science. As a result the overall health and well being of the U.S. population has improved, with individuals living longer and healthier lives. Unfortunately, not all segments of the population share in this outcome. For some segments of the population --specifically ethnic and racial minorities -- health disparities not only continue, they grow. To address the gaps in health status in these populations in any significant way additional research is needed, research that is conducted within the context of a culturally competent model of care. To develop cultural competency within the health care system, it is necessary to study factors impacting health care status of specific population groups. Often times the person best positioned to conduct this research is an individual who is a member of these ethnic population groups. Nurses, who are often the first point of contact in the health care system, are uniquely positioned to facilitate this type of research. Yet, the number of ethnic minority nurse researchers conducting this needed research is disproportionately low. While academic institutions have long been involved in the preparation of minority nurse researchers, ethnic minority nurse researchers and organizations also have a critical role to play in engaging and supporting the next generation of nurse scientists. To this end, the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations [NCEMNA], a coalition of African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian- Pacific Islander, and Philippine nurse associations in keeping with the priorities of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences priorities are committed to augmenting the number of ethnic minority nurse researchers initiating, conducting, and maintaining programs of research. NCEMNA is well positioned to implement programs related to this purpose because individually and collectively our organizations have a proven commitment, experience, network of role models, and leadership necessary to carry out the following objectives. We propose to increase the number of ethnic minority nurse researchers by addressing four specific aims: 1) creating a network of ethnic minority nurse researchers; 2) developing mechanisms to support ethnic engaging ethnic minority researchers at all levels; 3) engaging ethnic minority students to consider nursing research as a career trajectory; and 4) performing yearly evaluations to determine the attainment of each of the aims. It is expected that the outcomes of this proposal will be the development and strengthening of an infrastructure to increase the numbers of ethnic minority nurse researchers engaged in research.
