Tarana Sharma
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Daicia Price
Research Mentor School/College/Department: MI University of Michigan / Social Work
Program: UROP
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors:
Abstract
The retention rate of mental health professionals in underserved, communities that are home to a majority number of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color has been consistently low and a point of concern. To this end, an anti-racist intervention was introduced to graduate mental health student learners from 2014-2019, and retention rates were tracked. Following implementation, rates were steadily improving but dipped suddenly and significantly around the beginning of the lockdown phase of the Covid-19 pandemic – early 2019. Everyone in the cohort that was contacted was placed in a mental health care related field practicum in Detroit with a commitment to seek or maintain employment in public settings with a shortage of healthcare providers. This study aimed to find out the reasons behind their decision to maintain employment in the identified areas or seek other places of employment, and what could be improved to make their work conditions better. Based on literature review, some factors that can impact retention in underserved communities are: low salary, lack of resources, high caseloads, and burnout (Young, 2021), so participants were asked about these factors among others. Qualitative responses were emphasized, so there were multiple short and long response prompts to give participants an opportunity to share more comprehensive information about their experiences. Additionally, Zoom interviews were conducted as an additional opportunity to share, and a way to bridge gaps in the data from survey responses with supplemental information from the conversation. The implications of the data collected will be used to advise future interventions to increase retention.
