Objective. To examine the self-administered Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) and assess the perceived level of cultural competence of students in Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy to guide curriculum development within the 4-year academic program. Methods. The CCCQ was administrated to each class of pharmacy students during spring 2009. Exploratory factor analysis with principal components and varimax rotation was conducted to build the constructs explaining the factors measuring students' self-assessment of cultural competence. Results. Nine factors, including 46 items extracted from the CCCQ and explaining 79% of the total variance, were found as the best fit to measure students' self-assessment of cultural competence. Conclusions. The CCCQ was found to be a practical, valid, and reliable self-assessment instrument to measure the perceived level of pharmacy students' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and encounters in cross-cultural environments. The questionnaire allowed the identification of students' needs for training in cultural competence and the development of a curriculum tailored to satisfy those needs.

Although it has been well documented that poor health literacy is associated with limited participation in cancer clinical trials, studies assessing the relationships between cancer health literacy (CHL) and participation in research among diverse populations are lacking. In this study, we examined the relationship between CHL and willingness to participate in cancer research and/or donate bio-specimens (WPRDB) among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites. Participants completed the Cancer Health Literacy Test and the Multidimensional Cancer Literacy Questionnaire. Total-scale and subscale scores, frequencies, means, and distributions were computed. Analyses of variance, the Bonferroni procedure, and the Holm method were used to examine significant differences among groups. Cronbach’s alphas estimated scales’ internal consistency reliability. Significant interactions were found between race/ethnicity, gender, and CHL on WPRDB scales and subscale scores, even after education and age were taken into account. Our study confirms that CHL plays an important role that should be considered and researched further. The majority of participants were more willing to participate in non-invasive research studies (surveys, interviews, and training) or collection of bio-specimens (saliva, check cells, urine, and blood) and in studies led by their own healthcare providers, and local hospitals and universities. However, participants were less willing to participate in more-invasive studies requiring them to take medications, undergo medical procedures or donate skin/tissues. We conclude that addressing low levels of CHL and using community-based participatory approaches to address the lack of knowledge and trust about cancer research among diverse populations may increase not only their willingness to participate in research and donate bio-specimens, but may also have a positive effect on actual participation rates.

Objective Describe adaptation and initial validation of the Cancer Health Literacy Test (CHLT) for Spanish-speakers. Methods Cross-sectional field test of the CHLT Spanish version (CHLT-30-DKspa) among healthy Latinos in Louisiana. Diagonally Weighted Least Squares were used to confirm the factor structure. Item-Response Analysis using 2-parameter logistic estimates were used to identify questions that may require modification to avoid bias. Cronbach's alpha coefficients estimated scale internal consistency reliability. Analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences in CHLT-30-DKspa scores by gender, origin, age and education. Results Mean CHLT-30-DKspa score (N=400) was 17.13 (range 0 to 30; SD 6.65). Results confirmed a unidimensional structure (X2[405] =461.55, p=.027, CFI=.993; TLI=.992, RMSEA=.0180). Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. Items Q1-High calorie and Q15-Tumor spread had the lowest item-scale correlations (.148 and .288) and standardized factor loadings (.152 and .302). Items Q1-High Calories, Q8-Palliative Care, and Q19-Smoking Risk had the highest item-difficulty parameters (diff=1.12, 1.21, and 2.40). Conclusions Results generally supported the applicability of the CHLT-30-DKspa for Spanish-speaking healthy populations, with the exception of four items that need to be deleted or revised and further studied Q1, Q8, Q15, and Q19). Practical Implications The CHLT-30-DKspa can be used to assess cancer health literacy among Spanish-speaking populations to advance research on cancer health literacy and outcomes.

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