Just ASK™: Increasing Diversity in Cancer Clinical Research

This training program, adapted from a course developed at Duke University, is an online implicit bias training program intended for all members of the cancer research team.  

A series of interactive modules outline key concepts such as diversity, equity, and health disparities, as well as the role of implicit bias in clinical trial selection. Vignettes provide real-world examples of implicit bias from the perspective of community-based cancer programs and guidance for mitigating disparities in cancer research settings.  

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Participants will be better equipped to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity to improve the enrollment and retention of patients from African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and other groups who have been historically under-represented in clinical trials. 

Who Should Participate: Study investigators, clinical staff, research and non-research staff, administrators, and/or any members of the multidisciplinary team who are involved with clinical research within your cancer program. 

Learning Objectives  

1. Describe various dimensions of diversity that exist within society and the ways sociocultural norms shape perceptions  
2. Explain how implicit bias shapes interactions and interrelates with health disparities 
3. Identify strategies to address barriers to approaching underrepresented populations to engage in cancer research and/or clinical trials 

The course takes an estimated 60-90 minutes and participants will receive a certificate upon completion.  

Just Ask™ Training Facilitation Guide  

For those who recently participated in the Just Ask Training and would like to facilitate fruitful discussions among their staff around implicit bias, a Just Ask™ Training Facilitation Guide has been developed to reinforce the learnings from this online implicit bias training program.  The Training Facilitation Guide identifies feasible action steps to support implementation of a Just Ask™ strategy in your research site or cancer program or practice. 

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This training program is open to the public. You do not need to be an ACCC member to participate, but you will need to create an account to register.

This program is part of the “ASCO-ACCC Initiative to Increase Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Clinical Trials,” a collaboration by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Association for Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) to establish practical strategies and solutions to help increase participation in cancer treatment trials by patients from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic communities. 

"Just ASK™: Increasing Diversity in Biomedical Research” is used by ASCO-ACCC under a license from Duke University. (c) Copyright 2019-2022. Duke University and Duke University Health System. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MS, at the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, Duke University School of Medicine.