Faculty of Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds in Physical Therapist Education Programs in the United States: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose. Faculty in physical therapist education programs continue to lack racial and ethnic diversity despite efforts to increase representation from organizational stakeholders. To effectively address the challenge of recruiting diverse faculty, a comprehensive understanding of the literature and any existing gaps is important to support future research and efforts that have the potential to inform change. This scoping review aims to explore what is known about faculty race and ethnicity in physical therapist education programs. Methods. In accordance with the JBI Manual of Evidence Synthesis, a systematic search was conducted across 7 databases: Academic Search Premier, CINHAL, Embase, ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. In addition, a structured search in Google and Google Scholar, as well as a hand search of organizational reports and educational journals in physical therapy, was conducted. A qualitative content analysis was performed. Results. Forty sources met the inclusion criteria. Three main themes emerged: 1) Underrepresentation: Despite an increase in the number of underrepresented minority faculty members (URMFMs), the proportion is relatively unchanged over the last 20 years; 2) Organizational Actions: Reports have documented organizational actions to increase representation of URMFMs; however, there are no assessments to evaluate their impact on recruitment; 3) Impact on Students: Studies suggest the influence of faculty race/ethnicity on the recruitment and outcomes of students from underrepresented minority backgrounds, but there were no studies that evaluate the underlying constructs that drive associations between URMFMs and student recruitment and outcomes. Discussion and Conclusion. Limited information outside of demographical data and organizational efforts regarding URMFMs exist. There is lack of empirical research on URMFMs and how it affects student recruitment and outcomes. Future efforts aimed at increasing URMFMs may benefit from assessment of organizational actions and further empirical research to understand the full concept of underrepresentation in physical therapist education.