Let's talk about medical research: equity for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) older patients

• 
  Professor
  Robyn Woodward-Kron

  robynwk@unimelb.edu.au

  View researcher's webpage

  61+3+83443072

Project Details

People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD) remain excluded from clinical trials due to a range of language, literacy and cultural factors such as the literacy needed to understand paper-based study Participation and Information Consent forms (PICF). These barriers can be compounded when this population is ageing. Exclusion of these populations contributes to health inequalities for migrant groups; it also limits the generalisability of medical research findings.  The Australian National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research identifies the need to accommodate cultural factors in research participation and to present information to participants in ways that help them to make informed choices.

In 2013 Clinicians at St Vincent’s hospital initiated the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Ethics Resources (CALDER) study. Seeding funding from the Melbourne Networked Society Institute project enabled the development of a prototype iPad-based resource about medical research and consent informed by the needs, perceptions and experiences of CALD patients, their families, researchers, and HREC committee members. The target patient population was older Italo-Australians.

The findings have guided the development of a bilingual and culturally appropriate iPad-based resource, Let’s talk medical research: Parliamo dI ricerca medica! to be used in clinical and community contexts to raise awareness about the purpose of medical research. The resource includes videos about the purpose of medical research and the process of consent; it also includes proof of concept technology to trial a novel consent process.  The implementation phase will include a trial of the iPad-based resource, with researchers and patients at St Vincent’s hospital.

Researchers

Associate Professor Robyn Woodward-Kron

Professor Clare Delany

Collaborators

Professor David Story, Anaesthesia Perio-operative Pain & Medicine Unit (APPMU), Melbourne Medical School, UoM

Ms Anna Parker, Anaesthesia Perio-operative Pain & Medicine Unit (APPMU), Melbourne Medical School, UoM

Professor John Hajek, Department of Italian, School of Languages and Linguistics; Research Unit for Multilinguism and Cross Cultural Communication

Dr Jo Hughson, Department of Italian, School of Languages and Linguistics; Research Unit for Multilinguism and Cross Cultural Communication

Dr Tuong Phan, Department of Anaesthesia, UoM, and St Vincents Hospital, Melbourne Networked Society Institute

Funding

2015-2016 Ethics and Integrity Development Grant Scheme: Let's talk about medical research: equity for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) older patients (2yrs). Woodward-Kron, Hajek, Story, Delany, Phan, Hughson, Parker. $10,900.

Research Opportunities

This research project is available to Honours students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.

Research Outcomes

Let's talk medical research / Parliamo di ricerca medica. Web App, University of Melbourne.

Research Publications

Hughson, J., Woodward-Kron, R., Parker, A., Hajek, J., Bresin, A., Knoch, U., … Story, D. (2016). A review of approaches to improve participation of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in clinical trials. Trials, 17(1). doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1384-3

Woodward-Kron, R., Hughson, J., Parker, A., Bresin, A., Hajek, J., Knoch, U., … Story, D. (2016). Culturally and linguistically diverse populations in medical research: perceptions and experiences of older Italians, their families, ethics administrators and researchers. Journal of Public Health Research, 5(1). doi:10.4081/jphr.2016.667