Research Impact Story: Carrying Our Ancestors With Us
This downloadable PDF was designed to share the impact and results of Arizona State University’s community-led research project.
As part of their Community Research for Health Equity project, a team of indigenous researchers from Arizona State University examined why American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/NV) people remain significantly underrepresented in health care professions and what would be helpful for them to pursue and complete their education in these fields.
The study revealed that a "hidden curriculum" of unspoken requirements, resources, and opportunities often remains invisible or inaccessible to Indigenous students, while community connections and ancestral ties serve as powerful motivators for persistence.
Bases on these findings, the team is working with Arizona State University and the University of Arizona to integrate Indigenous content into curricula, strengthen partnerships with tribal colleges, and create more culturally supportive pathways that will help AI/AN students navigate health care education while honoring their cultural values and community responsibilities.
Learn more:
- Grantee Page: Cultivating a Community of Care: Amplifying the Voices of Native American Students in Premedicine and Undergraduate Nursing
- PubMed Published Review: Healing Through Representation: An Integrative Review of American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Health Professions Education
- Blog: Walking in Two Worlds: Indigenous Health Equity and the Need for Representation in Health Care
- Arizona State University Media Feature
- AcademyHealth Grantee Reflections Interview