: The candidate is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM). This proposal is designed to focus and further develop his expertise in health disparities research to become an independent clinical investigator. The research environment is a metropolitan emergency department with staff experienced in conducting clinical trials. The short-term career development goal is to expand the candidate's knowledge of bioethics, quantitative and qualitative methodology and apply these methods to design and evaluate a multimedia computer-based module for increasing public awareness about organ donation. Following this project, the candidate intends to submit an R01 grant to evaluate general use of the module in a multi-center trial and to evaluate versions translated in other common languages. The broader goal is to develop culturally sensitive multimedia modules based on qualitative research methods to improve health outcomes in disadvantaged populations through improved patient ? understanding. The plan to achieve these goals includes formal coursework, mentoring, and practical experience in project planning and execution. Courses in bioethics, cross-cultural research methods, educational digital video development and multimedia module design have been selected from the curriculum of AECOM and New York University as the didactic component of this plan. A committee of five local experts with experience in bioethics, qualitative, quantitative, and multimedia education research methods will mentor the candidate. Training also includes an apprenticeship in multimedia module design. This plan has the full support from the candidate's department chairman who will provide the protected time and resources necessary for completion of this career development proposal. The proposed research is a series of randomized controlled clinical trials designed to determine if a Spanish and English multimedia module is superior to a standard brochure used to increase awareness about organ donation and encourage registration into an organ donor registry. The goal of this line of inquiry is to promote donor awareness efforts and evaluate culturally sensitive interventions for ensuring that an individual's wishes to donate are documented and carried out. This would increase organ procurement rates potentially saving lives of the increasing number of patients awaiting organ transplantation. ? ? ? ?
