DCS 5122:
Cross Cultural Clinical Research

Cross Cultural Clinical Research (CCCR) is a theoretically driven, empirically based applied course for clinical researchers to strengthen awareness, knowledge, and skills in various multicultural, cross cultural and diversity competencies (proficiencies) necessary to design, develop, and implement clinical research in diverse populations.  Course objectives are:

1. To grow towards fluency as clinical researchers with multicultural proficiencies by understanding human differences and similarities and examining our personal biases and perceptions
2. To understand the research barriers and facilitators of working with diverse populations
3. To gain a greater awareness of various types of research designs that reflect knowledge of conducting research with diverse populations
4. To define and discuss topics (race, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, definition and perception of a disease etc) in the field of cross-cultural, multicultural diversity clinical research
5. To increase your awareness and understanding of how to theorize, measure, and assess cultural and diversity constructs in a research project
6. To develop awareness, skills, and proficiencies of how to approach and engage diverse groups to participate in your research study (from the development to implementation)
7. To begin to understand the impacts of historical, philosophical, societal, cultural, economic, and political dimensions on diverse populations (e.g., how does Tuskegee Syphilis Study/Experiment affect present diverse (i.e., African Americans populations)
8. To begin to acquire knowledge of the assets and needs of culturally diverse participants to engage in research (e.g., what type of incentives to provide to diverse populations, where to conduct the research)
9. To develop the ability to integrate multicultural topics (e.g., non-English speaking participant, translators and measurement translation) into professionalism regarding the appropriate design, implementation, and evaluation of clinical and research interventions.
10. To understand strategies and the ways to incorporate diversity when applying for federally funded research proposals (NIH, ACS. LAF etc).

Prerequisites:  None

Credit: 1 hours, elective

Grading Criteria:  Pass/Fail; the grade is based on your class participation (50%), 3-5 page diversity research strategy paper (30%), and completion of class presentations (20%).

Semester Offered: Summer

Course Director: Georita Frierson, PhD, Scientific Director of Diversity Programs and Research Initiatives,Cooper Institute, phone #1: 972 341-3250, phone #2: 214 330-9165 ext 6-2105, fax: 972 341.3225    

Course Administrator: Mack Dressler, Dept. of Clinical Sciences,
phone: 214 648-2558, fax: 214 648-3934