Data from: A virtual near-peer mentorship research program focused on healthcare disparities in the United States of America

To promote health equity, it is crucial to educate the next generation of
healthcare workers about disparities early on during their education. We
developed a virtual research program at a medical school in the United
States of America with the goal of increasing the awareness of youth about
the complexities of health inequities. The program was based on a
near-peer mentorship where high school students were coached by medical
student mentors under the oversight of an experienced faculty mentor. We
evaluated the participants’ perspectives about the program using a mixed
quantitative and qualitative method. Upon completion of the program, the
participants were asked to complete a survey and rate their self-perceived
knowledge, efficacy skills, and interest in addressing health disparities
in the future. Additionally, the participants’ perspectives about the
program were gathered using open-ended questions and analyzed using
thematic analysis. Our preliminary findings indicate that the program
enhanced the participant’s knowledge about the complexities of health
disparities and their motivation to address them in the future. The
near-peer mentorship model was valuable in the success of the program. The
implications of enhancing intrinsic and extrinsic instincts through
partnerships among educational settings, underserved communities,
policymakers, and healthcare agencies are discussed.