SafeSpeak: Co-Design and Evaluation of an AI Tool for Disclosure of Racism and Discrimination in Medical Education

Summary

This study is testing an AI chat tool called SafeSpeak that helps medical trainees document and disclose experiences of racism, discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment in a safe and supportive way. The goal is to learn whether the tool feels helpful, trustworthy, easy to use, and emotionally safe, and whether it could support future reporting of these experiences.

The study has two parts. In the first part, medical trainees will complete an anonymous online survey to share experiences they have had or witnessed involving racism, discrimination, harassment, or mistreatment during medical training. These anonymous responses will help create a library of realistic scenarios for SafeSpeak, together with educational scenarios developed by the research team and AI-generated scenarios.

In the second part, a small group of medical trainees will first test the early version of SafeSpeak and the study process. Participants in the main study will then use SafeSpeak to work through two realistic scenarios selected from the scenario library. They will take the role of the trainee in each scenario and enter the information they think would be important to document and disclose, such as what happened, their concerns, and how they might be feeling. Participants do not have to describe or discuss their own experiences.

After using SafeSpeak, participants will complete a short survey about their experience, including whether they found the tool helpful, easy to use, trustworthy, and emotionally safe. Some participants may also be invited to take part in a short interview to share more detailed feedback.

This study is for research purposes only. SafeSpeak does not replace the University of Calgary's existing reporting systems or support services. The findings from this study will help improve SafeSpeak and inform the development of safer and more supportive tools to help medical trainees document, disclose, and report experiences of discrimination in the future.

Eligibility

Currently recruiting participants: Yes

Eligible ages: 18 to 101

Accepts healthy participants: Yes

Inclusion criteria:

You can take part if you meet all of the following:
1. You are a medical student, resident, or fellow at the University of Calgary
2. You are 18 years of age or older
3. You are able to give informed consent to take part in the study
4. You can read and understand English well enough to complete the study activities
5. You have access to a device with internet access (such as a phone, tablet, or computer)

Exclusion criteria:

You cannot take part if:
1. You are not currently enrolled in a medical training program at the University of Calgary
2. You have already taken part in testing the SafeSpeak tool before
3. You are not able to complete the study activities (for example, surveys or the online simulation)

Participate

Fill out the following form if you want to participate in this research

Method of contact

UCalgary Notice of Collection
The University of Calgary (UCalgary) respects your privacy and is committed to ensuring the privacy of all students, staff, and community members. Your personal information is being collected under the authority of section 4(c) of the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA). It will be collected, used and disclosed for the purposes outlined in UCalgary’s Notice of Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information and managed in accordance with UCalgary’s Privacy Management Program. Your personal information may be input into automated systems to generate content or make decisions, recommendations, or predictions. If you have questions regarding this notice or UCalgary’s collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact accessandprivacy@ucalgary.ca.

Additional information

Contact information

Dr. Alya Heirali

Principal investigator:

Kannin Osei-Tutu

Clinical trial:

No

REB-ID:

REB26-0120