Best practices for inclusion of non-English communities

Presenters: Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS; Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH; Sharon Ross, PhD

Non-English speaking (NES) communities comprise 8.6% of the US population and have grown rapidly in the past two decades. However, NES individuals are often excluded from research, and, even when included, face barriers to being able to fully and equitably participate. These disparities are rooted in language injustice (inability to access services, resources, or materials in one’s own language). Learning challenges faced by NES research participants, as well as strategies for inclusion will help dismantle language injustice and promote equity in research. In this workshop, we will first present a short didactic, where we will review why inclusion of NES participants is critical to promote health equity; how to develop culturally and linguistically informed research teams; how to partner with trusted community-based organizations; Institutional Review Board requirements; and best practices for translating research materials (20 minutes). Next, facilitated by one of the presenters, learners will join small groups to discuss challenges they have faced including NES participants in research, brainstorm solutions and strategies for inclusion, and develop practices or policies the University of Pittsburgh can implement (30 minutes). For the last 10-15 minutes, we will reconvene as a large group to share small-group discussions and compile practice and policy recommendations. Facilitators have years of experience conducting research in languages other than English.

Register

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at diversity@pitt.edu by July 21

This workshop is a part of the 2021 Diversity Forum.