How & Who

With a goal of increasing minority participation in lupus clinical trials, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health (OMH) funded the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) to evaluate and disseminate the Community Health Worker (CHW) Lupus Clinical Trials Training (LuCTT) program. The ACR and its partner, KDH Research & Communication (KDHRC), developed LuCTT for CHW organizations and CHWs to use to achieve this goal.

To create LuCTT, the ACR adapted and merged existing evidence-based, theoretically grounded clinical trial and lupus educational materials into a multi-stage, interactive training for CHWs. The ACR convened ACR members, community organizations and experts to provide input from the perspective of a wide variety of stakeholders. The Advisory Committee contributed to model design and helped develop the content for LuCTT materials.

Project Partners

American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/The Lupus Initiative (TLI)

This project is a program of the American College of Rheumatology’s Collaborative Initiatives (COIN) Department.

The COIN department highlights rheumatology’s relevance to the healthcare community and public by using rheumatic diseases as case studies for treating complex disease, advancing health equity, eliminating health disparities and improving the quality of patient lives. COIN achieves this by collaborating with a network of organizations to develop, test and disseminate solutions to complex rheumatology care problems. ACR/ARP members from every aspect of rheumatology can design innovative, scalable project models while also positively impacting their communities and professional development.

KDH Research & Communication (KDHRC)

KDHRC constructs and evaluates public programs with a mission to produce and disseminate creative, objective and timely information to improve the health and well-being of the nation’s youth, families and communities. Nicole Wanty, Senior Research Associate, leads the KDHRC program development and evaluation teams to create and evaluate the LuCTT program.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY

Irene Blanco, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine – Rheumatology and Associate Dean of Diversity Enhancement at Albert Einstein College of Medicine serves as LuCTT project lead and provides the vital support necessary to ensure cohesiveness in preparation and planning of content development, implementation, evaluation, dissemination and publication.

Advisory Committee

Tashi Chodon, BSN, MPH; Director of Programs, Bronx Community Health Network.

Venus Ginés; President and Founder, Dia de la Mujer Latina.
Josephine Mercado, JD; Executive Director, Hispanic Health Initiatives.
Titilola Falasinnu, PhD; Researcher on diverse representation in clinical trials; Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Health Research & Policy, Stanford University.
Tawara Goode; Cultural competence expert; Director, National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Medical Center.
Margarita Holguin; Community Health Worker.
Ruth Parker, MD; Health literacy expert; Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Public Health.
Kimberly C. Trotter, MD; Rheumatology expert; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, The University of Chicago.
Michelle Wimes, JD; Director of Professional Development and Inclusion, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, & Stewart, P.C.