The Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University invites the campus community to their Research Colloquia to be held via Zoom on January 16, 2024 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

The guest speaker will be Marie Statler, Ph.D., MSN, BSN, RN, assistant professor in the College of Nursing, Department of Adult Health & Gerontological Nursing at Rush University. She will present, African American Perceptions of Participating in Health Research Despite Historical Mistrust: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

To receive the Zoom link, please email Dr. Tam Perry at teperry@wayne.edu or Julie O'Connor at julie.oconnor@wayne.edu. 

ABSTRACT

A qualitative descriptive approach examined the perspectives of African Americans (AA) on their participation in health research despite historical research mistreatment. Nineteen AA participated in semi-structured interviews that provided robust data for thematic data analysis. The study revealed salient themes that included motivators for research participation, race concordance relationships, being respected and valued by researchers, and cultural experiences of racism in health care. This study challenges the dominant ideology that AAs are unwilling to participate in research and offers solutions to promote research inclusive of their perceptions. Therefore, researchers should prioritize inclusiveness and transparency in their study designs, while highlighting how research can benefit future generations.

BIOGRAPHY

Marie Statler is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Adult Health & Gerontological Nursing at RUSH University College of Nursing. She earned a Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN) from Stevenson University. With a wealth of research experience, she has served as an Associate Investigator and Clinical Research Nurse Specialist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland.

As a Nurse Scientist, her primary objective is to reduce health disparities, with a particular focus on African-American research participants and marginalized oncology populations. In a recent study involving 33 African-American participants, she gained insight into the relationship dynamics and motives of both African-American research participants (AARPs) and African-American nurse scientists (AANS) in health research. Presently, her research is dedicated to developing race-conscious interventions that will improve colorectal cancer screening uptake among adult African-American men in Chicago communities.