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Effects of an educational intervention on female biomedical scientists’ research self-efficacy

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Abstract

Women and people of color continue to be underrepresented among biomedical researchers to an alarming degree. Research interest and subsequent productivity have been shown to be affected by the research training environment through the mediating effects of research self-efficacy. This article presents the findings of a study to determine whether a short-term research training program coupled with an efficacy enhancing intervention for novice female biomedical scientists of diverse racial backgrounds would increase their research self-efficacy beliefs. Forty-three female biomedical scientists were randomized into a control or intervention group and 15 men participated as a control group. Research self-efficacy significantly increased for women who participated in the self-efficacy intervention workshop. Research self-efficacy within each group also significantly increased following the short-term research training program, but cross-group comparisons were not significant. These findings suggest that educational interventions that target sources of self-efficacy and provide domain-specific learning experiences are effective at increasing research self-efficacy for women and men. Further studies are needed to determine the longitudinal outcomes of this effort.

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Acknowledgements

This study was made possible through funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01 GM071918) and contributions from the College of Medicine, Howard University and the School of Medicine and Public Health Office of Continuing Professional Development and Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The authors wish to acknowledge the generous contributions of all the students, faculty and staff that have contributed to this project. We particularly wish to thank faculty who have led the intervention, Drs. Carnes, Sorkness and Maxwell, and members of our steering committee at Howard University, Drs. Kudlick, Harrell, Snell, Mouton, Smith and Henley. We further acknowledge the staff of the University of Wisconsin’s Clinical Investigator Program, Ms. Slonicker, Dr. Bauman and Ms. Zotalis, and Office of Continuing Professional Development, Ms. Mullikin and Ms. Rowin, and Howard University College of Medicine, Ms. Bruce-Moore, who have dedicated many hours to making this project possible. This project would not have occurred without the insights, coordination and team efforts of the numerous individuals involved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 University Avenue, 7255 MSC, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Lori L. Bakken

  2. Center for Women’s Health and Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 700 Regent St., Rm 301, Madison, WI, 5315, USA

    Angela Byars-Winston

  3. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 University Avenue, 7255 MSC, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Dawn M. Gundermann

  4. School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Ave., Box 2455, Madison, WI, 53792, USA

    Earlise C. Ward

  5. Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Angela Slattery

  6. College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 “W” Street, Washington, DC, 20059, USA

    Andrea King

  7. Collaborative Alcohol Research Center, College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 “W” Street, Washington, DC, 20059, USA

    Denise Scott

  8. College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 “W” Street, Room 512, Washington, DC, 20059, USA

    Robert E. Taylor

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  1. Lori L. Bakken
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Correspondence to Lori L. Bakken.

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Bakken, L.L., Byars-Winston, A., Gundermann, D.M. et al. Effects of an educational intervention on female biomedical scientists’ research self-efficacy. Adv in Health Sci Educ 15, 167–183 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-009-9190-2

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