How Do NIH Funding Requirements Impact Researcher Demographics?

An analysis of the impact of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding requirements determined that they improve diversity in medical scientist training programs (MSTPs). The data revealed more variety in researcher demographics for medical scientists (MD–PhD). Improved diversity at the educational level may foster improved diversity across the healthcare and clinical research workforce. Many predict that a more diverse workforce will promote improved health equity.

The qualitative study — published in JAMA Network Open — identified 12 MSTPs, categorized based on the percentage of underrepresented students maturing between 2014 and 2018. Nine programs were deemed high-performing, while the remaining three were considered low-performing.

After identifying the programs, investigators interviewed program leaders, including program directors, their associates and assistant staff, and other program administrators. Among the 69 participants, 19% were Black, 9% were Asian, 17% were Hispanic, and 52% were White. Over one-quarter of the people interviewed were involved in the recruitment process.

Based on the qualitative data collected, the researchers identified five themes regarding the impact of NIH funding requirements on recruitment diversity. The first theme was an increased urgency to improve MSTP program diversity when NIH funding was linked to diversity.

Beyond that, the researchers noted that the funding guidelines helped program leaders invest in tools to recruit underrepresented students. The third theme researchers noted is that diversity guidelines by the NIH encouraged a more holistic evaluation of applicants.

Program leaders also were forced to re-evaluate their internal diversity initiatives. If their internal policies did not facilitate a diversity standard that matched the NIH funding guidelines, they could reassess or adjust their practices to improve diversity.

Finally, investigators determined that low-performing programs were less effective than high-performing programs in making the appropriate adjustments.

Despite only comprising 4% of medical school graduates, the NIH allocates almost half of its research funding grants for MD–PhD physicians. Recruiting a diverse student population diversifies the workforce. Increased diversity may also facilitate improved clinical trial diversity and patient outcomes.

“We found that the NIH’s linking of diversity efforts to MSTP funding created a powerful impetus for program leadership to enhance the recruitment and retention of URiS students. The NIH could consider linking diversity efforts to additional funding opportunities to increase the diversity of the biomedical research enterprise,” concluded the researchers in the study.