In her role as Community Liaison for the Office of the Vice President for Research, Linda Herskovitz has heard from many individuals in the Detroit area about the concerns and fears they have about participating in research studies and clinical trials. Issues related to confidentiality, ethical treatment of study participants, accessibility to studies and conflicts of interest are among the major themes that have surfaced during the six months Ms. Herskovitz has taken her program on the ethics of community research to senior citizens, neighborhood groups, health-related support groups and health care and social service organizations.

This community outreach and education program was implemented in fall, 2005 in order to enhance awareness of how the rights of study participants are protected by legal and ethical guidelines. To accomplish this goal, Ms. Herskovitz has developed presentation material to explain the types of studies for which one might be asked to volunteer, the history of human research (from biblical to modern times), the mistreatment of participants (with a focus on ethical issues and The Tuskegee Syphilis Study), and how the current legal and ethical guidelines protect participants from the abuses of the past. She also provides her audiences with information about the process of informed consent and shares some practical advice on what prospective participants might want to think about and what types of questions they might want to ask as they consider volunteering for a research study or clinical trial.

Ms. Herskovitz has made almost two-dozen presentations and has reached almost 400 Detroit-area residents and 200 health care and social service providers since late fall. Additionally, she has been interviewed on DRIS (Detroit Radio Information Services), a sub-channel of WDET, to take her message to the blind and print-impaired who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend one of her informational sessions.

The WSU Institute of Gerontology (IOG) has been instrumental in facilitating entry into a number of community organizations, as has the Center for Urban African American Health (CUAAH), The Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA), Neighborhood Services Organization (NSO) and the Hannan Foundation. Additionally, Ms. Heskovitz has made presentations at several programs sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including Improving Cancer Outcomes of African Americans in Michigan (ICOAAM) and The Community Network Program. She was a speaker at the annual meeting of the Michigan Cancer Consortium (MCC) last November.

Anyone with suggestions for target audiences or wishing to learn more about this program should contact Ms. Herskovitz at the HIC at 313-577-1628 or by e-mail to linda.herskovitz@wayne.edu.