title: Issues in designing and implementing a Spanish-language multi-site clinical trial.
abstract: To address at least in part health disparities in Hispanic populations, the NIDA Clinical Trials Network implemented the first multi-site randomized clinical trial of substance abuse treatment conducted entirely in Spanish. This trial was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of Motivational Enhancement Therapy in a diverse population of Hispanics. In the conduct of this trial, several barriers to the successful implementation of a Spanish-language multi-site trial had to be addressed, including the appropriate translation of assessment instruments, shortage of appropriately trained Spanish-speaking clinical staff, and barriers to recruitment and retention of this population. To encourage similar research, strategies are described that were developed by the study team to meet these challenges.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA. lsuarez@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Suarez-Morales
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: Samuel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farentinos
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szapocznik
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D003144:Communication Barriers; D003469:Culture; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D019303:Multilingualism; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D012108:Research Personnel; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States