Journal
JOURNAL OF CANCER EDUCATION
Volume 27, Issue 2, Pages 299-305Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s13187-011-0300-5
Keywords
Clinical trials; Cancer; African Americans; Hispanics/Latinos; Health literacy; Focus group
Funding
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey
- National Cancer Institute [P30 CA072720, K01 CA131500]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Although cancer clinical trials are important for discovering lifesaving therapies, participation remains low among racial/ethnic minorities, and little research explores the role of health literacy in racial/ethnic minority perceptions of cancer clinical trials (CCTs). Five focus groups ( = 50) with African American and Hispanic participants explored CCT perceptions using a multidimensional health literacy framework. We found poor scientific literacy including misconceptions of scientific information, perceptions of clinical trials as uncertain and fear; limited civic literacy around topics of trust, perceptions of participants as guinea pigs, and concerns about of IRB protections; and cultural literacy challenges regarding the importance of home remedies for health, use of native language, and the importance of race/ethnicity matching to health care professionals. Results highlight the importance of attending to scientific literacy, cultural literacy, and civic literacy. Future educational interventions regarding cancer clinical trials should address the importance of health literacy in understanding cancer clinical trial decision making.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available