TABLE 2.

Barriers to Conducting Research in HIV/AIDS and Mental Health at Institutions Serving Minorities and Potential Solutions

Focus	Barriers	Potential Solutions
Institution and resources	Small medical school class size.	Increase medical school class size.
	Low ranking of medical school based on extramural funding.	Target recruitment of extramurally funded research faculty.
	Medical school part of larger general undergraduate campus.	Designate separate campus for biomedical and health sciences.
	Lack of strong culture for biomedical research.	Integrate biomedical research training in curriculum.
	Limited availability of cutting-edge scientific equipment.	Consolidate and improve access to core facilities with high-end equipment.
	Lack of follow-through on institutional commitments; broken promises.	Increase accountability of institutional leadership.
Faculty	Few tenure-track positions for basic and clinical science faculty.	Increase tenure-track positions for basic and clinical science faculty.
	Inability to recruit and retain first-tier research faculty.	Implement cluster recruitment to build critical mass in specific research disciplines.
	No or limited protected research time for clinical faculty.	Structure protected research time for clinical faculty.
	Lack of collaboration among research faculty.	Create incentives for collaborative research.
	No internal review mechanism of grant applications.	Provide internal review mechanism to increase funding.
	Inadequate mechanism to support faculty while they are awaiting funding decision.	Provide bridging funds to faculty awaiting funding decisions on applications for research project grants.
	Lack of knowledge about funding opportunities and grantsmanship.	Sponsor attendance at funding tutorials and grantsmanship workshops.
	Insufficient exposure to first-tier researchers.	Invite world-class scholars to meet with young faculty.
	Lack of knowledge about ongoing research at institution.	Open faculty and program retreats to all young faculty.
Mentoring	Few qualified senior faculty to mentor young investigators.	Recruit magnet investigators.
	Too few senior faculty with time to mentor.	Cultivate mentoring skills in more senior faculty.
	Few role models of ethnic- and gender-appropriate NIH-funded senior faculty.	Assign best-match senior faculty mentor to junior faculty.
	Rigid one-size-fits-all mentoring philosophy.	Individualize best-fit mentoring philosophy.
Training	Inadequate well-trained senior faculty to provide technical training in specific areas.	Form partnership with majority institution to obtain targeted training in specific areas.
	Lack of knowledge about research design and methods.	Provide degree or certificate in clinical research.
	Limited research training opportunities.	Provide targeted training programs.
	Rigid one-size-fits-all training philosophy.	Individualize best-fit training philosophy.
Local economy and health care	High cost of housing.	Provide faculty housing and loan assistance for mortgage.
	Comparatively low remuneration for medical services.	Provide competitive compensation packages.
	Critical shortage of physicians.	Investment in medical school by state legislature.
	Critical shortage of clinical specialists.	Provide additional incentives to specialists.
Local community	Stigmatization of HIV/AIDS.	Heighten culturally sensitive educational programs.
	Stigmatization of mental health disorders.	Train more ethnic-appropriate mental health professionals.
	Cultural reluctance to seek medical care for mental health disorders.	Improve outreach and access to mental health care.
	Inadequate community infrastructure for mental health services.	Improve community infrastructure.