Operationalizing Culturally Competent Research

We are pleased to start off the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) Cultural Competency Series with a keynote address presented by Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD, MS, at the Case CCC Cultural Competency Retreat on March 13, 2014.  

The audience of Dr. Haywood’s presentation, Operationalizing Culturally Competent Research, will be introduced to the following concepts: 1) Background information of diversity of racial and ethnic groups in cancer clinical trials; 2) Definition of culturally competent research; 3) How to operationalize a culturally competent research process; and 4) Issues related to study design and publishing criteria for increasing diversity of clinical trial participants. 

The presentation will take the viewer through research process steps starting with posing a research question through study design, recruitment, data collection, data analysis and dissemination of findings. It will show, using general and specific examples, how culturally competent research can increase the inclusion of minorities in cancer clinical trials.  

The video of the presentation can be accessed at: https://research.case.edu/Education/CREC_Video.cfm.  Viewing the presentation and taking an online quiz will allow you to receive 3 Continuing Research Education Credits (CRECs).   

About Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD

Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD, MS

Image of Sonja Harris-Haywood.

Director, Northeast Ohio Medical University/Cleveland State University (NEOMED/CSU) Partnership for Urban Health
Associate Vice Provost of Health Affairs, Cleveland State University
Senior Associate Dean, NEOMED

The NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health is led by Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD, MS, an award-winning family medicine educator, physician and researcher specializing in health disparities and cultural competency. As director of the partnership, Dr. Harris-Haywood is committed to establishing a nationally recognized model in urban health that will provide increased opportunities in medicine to underrepresented groups.

Dr. Haywood came to the NEOMED-CSU Partnership from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, where she spent nine years as an assistant professor of family medicine in the role of physician, clinical educator and researcher.

Previously, Dr. Harris-Haywood completed academic fellowships in family medicine at New Jersey Medical School and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Her extensive clinical experience also includes a position as an emergency-room physician at University Hospitals, medical director of a correctional facility as well as positions at community health centers in North Carolina and New Jersey.

Dr. Harris-Haywood is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Cleveland Medical Association, among other organizations. With an emphasis on health disparities and cultural competency, she has conducted research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. Her work has been published in Archives of Internal Medicine, Medical Care, Journal of the National Medical Association and other peer-reviewed publications.