Clinical Trials: Considerations for Women and Ethnic Minorities
Course #91404 - $30 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
This course will review basic concepts pertaining to clinical trials, the history of clinical trials, and societal views about medical research. The course will then examine the sociocultural context of medical research and clinical trials to provide a frame of reference in understanding factors that promote and impede women and racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trial participation. Healthcare professionals and social workers will be able to adequately address patients' questions about clinical trials. It will also assist healthcare professionals and social workers to collaborate with investigators in developing culturally sensitive communication and recruitment strategies to better target these two groups.
- INTRODUCTION
- CLINICAL TRIALS: AN OVERVIEW
- HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF CLINICAL TRIALS
- SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT IN MEDICAL RESEARCH: A TIMELINE
- SOCIETAL ATTITUDES ABOUT CLINICAL TRIALS
- CLINICAL TRIAL PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES
- CONTROVERSIES REGARDING WOMEN AND RACIAL/ETHNIC MINORITIES IN CLINICAL TRIALS
- BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN CLINICAL TRIALS
- OVERVIEW OF ETHICAL ISSUES
- ROLE OF HEALTHCARE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN CLINICAL TRIALS
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
This course is designed for physicians, nurses, pharmacy professionals, social workers, counselors, and therapists who utilize clinical trial results to inform practice decisions or who care for patients who are or should be involved in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are considered the criterion standard of medical research, and participation in clinical trials provides treatment opportunities for a wide variety of patients. The purpose of this course is to increase the knowledge base of healthcare and behavioral health professionals about clinical trials, particularly the representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities in these trials.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Analyze the various components and types of clinical trials.
- Outline the historical and sociocultural context of clinical trials.
- Evaluate the sociocultural, medical, and scientific research milieu in order to better understand women's and racial/ethnic minorities' roles in clinical trials.
- Discuss arguments and counterarguments for the inclusion of women and racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials.
- Identify barriers that contribute to the under-representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials.
- Identify ethical issues specific to the inclusion of women and racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials.
- Discuss the role of healthcare and behavioral health professionals in the recruitment and retention of women and racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work. She has clinical experience in mental health in correctional settings, psychiatric hospitals, and community health centers. In 1997, she received her PhD from UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. Dr. Yick Flanagan completed a year-long post-doctoral fellowship at Hunter College, School of Social Work in 1999. In that year she taught the course Research Methods and Violence Against Women to Masters degree students, as well as conducting qualitative research studies on death and dying in Chinese American families.
Previously acting as a faculty member at Capella University and Northcentral University, Dr. Yick Flanagan is currently a contributing faculty member at Walden University, School of Social Work, and a dissertation chair at Grand Canyon University, College of Doctoral Studies, working with Industrial Organizational Psychology doctoral students. She also serves as a consultant/subject matter expert for the New York City Board of Education and publishing companies for online curriculum development, developing practice MCAT questions in the area of psychology and sociology. Her research focus is on the area of culture and mental health in ethnic minority communities.
Contributing faculty, Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John M. Leonard, MD
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
Randall L. Allen, PharmD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.