An Improvement Science Framework to Advance Sense of Belonging for Physical Therapist Students From Minoritized Backgrounds

To better serve an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse United States population, the physical therapy profession has been focused on increasing the diversity of the physical therapy workforce and increasing recruitment of racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) students in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. In contributing to the goal of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive profession, DPT programs must admit, support, retain, and graduate individuals who represent diversity in its many aspects. However, factors such as a lack of REM mentors and decreased sense of belonging contribute to disparate academic outcomes for REM DPT students. Although educators must act to implement innovative strategies to support a sense of belonging among students who have been historically marginalized, a systematic approach to decision-making, action, and analysis is needed when dealing with a complex problem with multifaceted causes and multiple possible solutions. Improvement science is a continuous improvement approach that uses a series of data-informed processes and the expertise of multiple stakeholders to promote equity in education, offering a framework for seeing the problem from the perspective of REM DPT students. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles offer the opportunity to introduce educational changes on a smaller scale to evaluate variation prior to applying it to a larger setting. This perspective highlights a series of PDSA cycles trialing interventions aimed at decreasing barriers to success and improving a sense of belonging for REM DPT students. Even in the face of structural and institutionalized barriers, leveraging an improvement science framework can help ensure that change is meaningful and lasting.