Spreading Teen Research Inspired Videos to Engage Schoolmates (STRIVES)
As our nation’s population becomes increasingly diverse, it is important that all aspects of our health care workforce represent that diversity. A diverse health care workforce is an important part of expanding health care access for the underserved, enriching the pool of leaders and policymakers to meet the needs of a diverse population, and fostering biomedical and clinical research to address diseases that affect these populations. Unfortunately, data suggests that few high achieving minority youth would consider a career in research, thereby limiting the success of early outreach programs in identifying potentially successful future researchers.
One promising way to increase interest in clinical research careers among youth is through the spreading of video messages crafted and created by teens for their classmates through social media. Through STRIVES, TEACH Research students research, create, and launch a viral social media campaign that encourages their peers to consider a career in clinical research. Expert staff and faculty guide students as they conduct focus groups, shoot video, edit footage, and launch a successful campaign. The aim of this study is to assess the impact and reach of these student-led social media campaigns.
For more information, contact teachstrives@gmail.com
Investigators
The principal collaborators of the TEACH STRIVES project are:
- Vineet Arora, MD, MA, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine; Assistant Dean at Pritzker School of Medicine
- David Meltzer, MD, PhD, Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Economics, and Public Policy; Director of CHeSS
- Jeanne Farnan, MD, MHPE, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine
- Shannon Martin, MD, MS, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine
- Audrey Tanksley, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine
Research Scope
Research on interventions that can “prime the pump” for pipeline programs by boosting baseline interest in research careers is vital to the success of current programs. While few students may consider a career in research due to lack of knowledge or access to role models in their immediate family or school network, peer online social networks represents a potential way of reaching underserved minority students. This study aims to test the effectiveness of a novel peer-to-peer social media marketing campaign to spread video vignettes created by teens to inspire other teens to consider careers in clinical research.
The 2014 STRIVES campaign was featured on the following sites:
Support
This project is funded by the NIH grant 5R01GM107721-02.