Client: Seattle Children’s Hospital

Developed a plan to ensure that the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Seattle Children’s Hospital is reflective of the community’s cultural and demographic makeup. Held a series of focus groups and developed a plan to reach out to communities of color and various interest groups, and to recruit and train community members to function successfully on the IRB. IRBs focus on the protection of human rights and are required by law for federally funded research activities. (2002 – 2003)

Results: Children’s adopted and implemented the plan. The plan was also a factor in their creation of a Center for Medical Ethics focusing on the care of children.