March 2008, Volume 5 Issue 2

New Educational Materials Link Hispanic Health and Clinical Research

Endocrinologist Maria Ramos-Roman says she finds many Spanish-speaking patients prefer to discuss their health concerns in their native language. “I know that for me, if I were going to participate in a study, I would feel more comfortable if the information is given to me in the language I knew from the very beginning,” Ramos-Ramon relates.

Yull Arriaga, MD, agrees. The Peruvian-born medical oncologist, who assisted in the creation of the new brochure, says CISCRP’s new Spanish-language brochure and DVD will provide valuable supports for investigators’ interactions Hispanic people. Noting that the majority of his Hispanic patients, “do not know what a clinical trial is,” Arriaga says, “When I am explaining clinical trials to my patients, I use Spanish. It would help to have pamphlets or diagrams in Spanish that make it easy to understand the concept of clinical trials.”

The new brochure and DVD clarify the connections between clinical research and Hispanic people’s health. Both items use universally understood, culturally appropriate language, and images of Hispanic daily life to reinforce the message that clinical research participation helps improve the health of Hispanic children and adults. Information gathered in telephone and email interviews with medical experts born and/or educated in South America, Mexico or Puerto Rico, and in-person conversations with more than 50 Hispanic adults in San Antonio, TX, and Springfield, MA, also was used to shape the brochure’s content and make it visually appealing to Spanish-speaking readers.

The new brochure and DVD were produced in collaboration with AstraZeneca’s Study Recruitment Center and Multicultural Competency Department; the private video/television production company, Public Health Television (PHTV); and academic medical centers and community health centers across the country. It is hoped that hospitals, universities, community health clinics, and civic and clinical research organizations will use the new materials to add depth and meaning to discussions with Spanish-speaking people about clinical research participation. Both items are available for purchase on the CISCRP website.

To order copies of the video, Nuevos Tratamientos para Las Enfermedades Respiratorias, the brochure, Los Hispanos y La Investigación Clínica, or other educational materials for Hispanic audiences, go to www.ciscrp.org/e-store/store.asp, or phone 781-326-3400, 1-888-CISCRP3 (247-2773) (toll free).

CISCRP gratefully acknowledges the help of the following experts in developing the content for the Hispanic brochures and DVD:

Alfonso Alanis, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Anaclim
Hugo Álvarez, MD, internist, ACCESS Community Health Network
Yull Arriaga, MD, medical oncologist, Simmons Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Mauricio Roque Delgado-Ayala MD, professor of neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Eduardo Grunvald, MD, internist, University of California San Diego Medical Center
Maritza Layport, professor and teacher of Spanish
Alfredo Lopez-Yunez, MD, founder and director, Centro Medico Alivio, Indianapolis
Maria Ramos-Roman, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine-endocrinology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Juan R. Sanabria, MD, MSc, transplant surgeon and clinical researcher, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Javier F. Sevilla Mártir, MD, Director of International Medicine and Hispanic Health, Indiana University Department of Family Medicine
Marlena Vega, PhD, psycho-oncologist and CEO of the non-profit organization, Sobrevivir/A Will to Live

To view other articles in this issue, click here.