February 2008, Volume 5 Issue 1

New CISCRP Brochure Speaks to African Americans About Clinical Research

Using information gathered during phone and email interactions with prominent African American physicians, clinical researchers, and health educators, plus person-on-the-street interviews with 51 African American adults in Mississippi and New York, the new educational brochure answers African Americans’ questions and concerns about clinical research in a forthright and unbiased manner

It is hoped that the brochure’s honest approach to past abuses and the ways in which clinical research today has changed will foster credence and understanding among its intended audience.

“When African Americans hear the words, “clinical trial,” they conjure up images regarding Tuskegee, regarding experimentation, regarding am I being used as a guinea pig?” explains University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing researcher Christopher L. Coleman, PhD. “We haven’t really done a good job of hearing what African American patients have to say and tackling the ongoing scourge of historical and institutional racism in this country. If we are going to get around and get African Americans to participate in clinical trials, we have to deal with it and we have to meet them where they are.”
 
The new CISCRP brochure faces African Americans’ concerns head-on. In addition to speaking frankly about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and the former exclusion of minorities and women from clinical research, the brochure goes on to describe ways in which human subjects now are protected, and why African American participation is needed. The benefits and risks of participation, questions to ask before volunteering, and places to find more information also are provided.

Of course, content is just one facet of the finished product, and the colors, photos and graphic design make up the rest. These elements were chosen with extensive input from lay and professional readers who reviewed drafts of the brochure and suggested ways to improve readability, layout and visual appeal. Based on input from nearly 60 reviewers, photos of African American families and individuals in everyday settings were used throughout the brochure. A picture of an African American mother and her teenaged sons speaking with an African American physician was chosen for the cover, and a clean, contemporary design with a rich cocoa and latte color palette was used.

The new brochure is the result of a months-long collaboration among CISCRP, AstraZeneca’s Multicultural Competency Department, and Uniworld Group, Inc., a full-service, multi-cultural marketing communications agency. As a successor to CISCRP’s Education before Participation brochure, African Americans and Clinical Research will be a valuable resource to anyone wanting to reach out to African Americans about clinical research. It is CISCRP’s hope that hospitals, universities, community health clinics, and civic and clinical research organizations, as well as physicians, research teams, and health educators will use it to increase public awareness of the need for African American participation in clinical research.
 
To order copies of African Americans and Clinical Research, go to CISCRP’s online bookstore at www.ciscrp.org/e-store/store.asp, or phone 781-326-3400, 1-888-CISCRP3 (247-2773) (toll free).

CISCRP’s new educational brochure, African Americans and Clinical Research, was created with the generous help from many individuals. We extend our thanks to the following people for sharing their knowledge and expertise with us.

Sharon Allison-Ottey, MD, researcher and author
Bettina M. Beech, DrPH, MPH, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Naomi Bitow, MPH, Breaking It Down: Our Health Our Way Initiative
Marino Bruce, PhD, Meharry Medical College
Leon D. Caldwell, PhD, University of Memphis
Christopher L. Coleman, PhD, MS, MPH, APRN-BC, ACRN, FAAN, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Robert Mayberry, MS, MPH, PhD, Baylor Health Care System
Karen Rodman, MD, Indiana Minority Health Coalition
Janet E. Taylor, MD, Harlem Hospital
Athene Wilson-Glover, National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer

To view other articles in this issue, click here.