The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60854

Laura Lewellyn Kelhoffer, MA¹, Ricardo J. Wray, PhD², Robert O Webster, PhD³, and Matthew W Kreuter, PhD, MPH¹. (1) Health Communication Research Laboratory, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Salus Center, St. Louis, MO 63104, 314-977-4083, kelhofll@slu.edu, (2) School of Public Health, Health Communication Research Laboratory, 3545 Lafayette, Salus Center, Room 403, St. Louis, MO 63104, (3) Health Sciences Research Administration, Saint Louis University, 3556 Caroline Street, Room C110, St. Louis, MO 63104

There is a notable lack of training materials on research ethics for community workers involved in conducting public health research. These workers may include bartenders, neighborhood residents, church members, store clerks, and a host of other lay workers who are not formally trained as scientists but can be invaluable in the research process. In the absence of appropriate training materials, many community workers will not receive the guidance they need to interpret and apply the three Belmont Principles for Human Subject Research: Autonomy; Beneficence; and, Justice. Based on formative interviews with multi-disciplinary research faculty and community workers themselves, we developed a research ethics curriculum and a discussion guide for principal investigators that meets their mutual need for materials that are short, interactive, context specific, conceptually balanced, portable, and informal. We will present sample materials and plans for dissemination that fill this need and thereby ensure data quality and integrity, compliance with informed consent and confidentiality requirements, and continued community involvement in research.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to:
• List the 4 core content areas of ethics training for community workers
• Discuss the attributes of relevant training materials
• Apply concepts to their own research ethics training needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.