The Panel of National Pathology Leaders (PNPL) is a think tank established in 2019 that advances best practices in pathology and laboratory medicine. Steadily increasing membership engagement and retention is essential for long-term success. The team was tasked with recommending strategies to increase membership engagement and retention with improved value offerings. The Capstone team conducted extensive market research into the membership offerings of comparable think tanks and professional medical membership organizations. The team also surveyed and interviewed multiple members, panelists, and advisors to better understand perceived and desired membership value. The final report outlines market research, survey and interview results, quick wins, and long-term recommendations to improve membership engagement and retention.

Many healthcare organizations are working to improve their diversity efforts and outcomes, but ensuring that best practices are effective and sustainable has proven difficult. Many healthcare organizations have adopted DEI initiatives, but is this truly leading to a paradigm shift in diversity management? With an aging American demographic and an increasingly diverse population, it is crucial to prioritize culturally competent strategies in cultivating a more equitable system for both patients and practitioners. The team undertook a literature review that outlined the current state of diversity in healthcare in the following categories: care, educational opportunity, cultural competency, executive-level involvement, and best practices. The team recommended making efforts to increase accessibility to healthcare education in minority communities and honoring these communities through appropriate cultural competency.

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare delivery in the US continues to be affected by patient demand and limited resource supply. Telehealth services are a way to mitigate the demand and supply issue and have become integral to present-day healthcare delivery. A team analyzed the evolving use of telehealth services and technology within three distinct stages of the pandemic. The team organized its literature review chronologically and thematically, describing how telehealth utilization shifted for three primary stakeholders—patients, providers, and payers—during the varying timeframes. The team synthesized current literature and concluded that further research is needed to better understand the stakeholders’ user experience and forecast the future utilization of telehealth services in the US beyond the pandemic.

The Uganda Village Project (UVP) is a nonprofit organization that facilitates community health and well-being projects in rural Uganda. Their programming focuses on access to education and preventative services for HIV/AIDS, malaria, reproductive health, water, sanitation, and hygiene. UVP engaged a Capstone team to evaluate its current Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) tools and processes, and provide evidence-based recommendations for improvement. The team conducted a literature review on MEL best practices across various community health development programs. The team used its findings to develop strategies for consolidating existing survey tools, simplifying questionnaire design, and standardizing administrative procedures. The team presented its findings to UVP’s on-site staff and developed a revised survey tool with the aim of collecting analyzable data for long-term outcome and impact measurement.