Dominican Republic Programs

Creighton in the Dominican Republic

Creighton University Global Engagement Office, ILAC, and Encuentro Dominicano logos

Creighton University has had a presence in the Dominican Republic for 45 years.  We are hosted there by the Centro de Educacion para la Salud Integral (CESI), with whom we have a very close partnership. This partnership grew from efforts to provide immersive experiences in health services and has expanded to other initiatives.  However, efforts to provide accessible healthcare and build community resilience remain the main activities.

The Creighton / CESI relationship is guided by principles of authentic partnership. Therefore, and in order to be good stewards of this partnership, all Creighton University programs / projects in the Dominican Republic must first be cleared by Creighton University's Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC) within the Global Engagement Office.

New ideas for activities in the Dominican Republic are always welcomed! 

Please contact Jill Muegge, MA, Director of ILAC Operations, Omaha, to initiate an exploratory dialogue about your idea for a program or activity in the Dominican Republic. Jill will put you in contact with the right individuals to assist in designing, gaining approval, and deploying the program in the Dominican Republic.  Jill can be reached at 402.280.4185 or JillMuegge@creighton.edu. 

This guideline is relevant to ALL new programs proposed to be carried out in the Dominican Republic under the auspices of Creighton University.  Such programs may include, but are not limited to, short immersion trips, service trips, travel courses, research programs, etc.

PLEASE NOTE that if you are planning a Faculty-Led Program Abroad/Away (FLPA) in the Dominican Republic, you must also obtain approval for such programs through the usual process in your College/School and through the Global Engagement Office. 

Hosting a program in the Dominican Republic requires planning of staff, resources and coordination with local partners.  Depending on the proposed program, this may take significant time.  Therefore, the following deadlines will guide consideration of proposals:

For group travel programs:

  • August 1: Application deadline for summer programs (permits consideration of the proposed program in the context of all other travel programs approved for the summer);
  • March 1: Application deadline for programs taking place during the following fall or spring semesters.
  • Please permit at least 4 weeks for program review and response because the process will include consultation with CESI (at minimum) and other partners as needed

No research activities may be conducted by Creighton University faculty, staff or students without prior approval from the ILAC Research Advisory Committee.

Research projects must first undergo Creighton IRB review and the notice of approval or exemption must accompany the application to the ILAC Research Advisory Committee.

All research will follow the ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects as articulated in the Belmont Report.

If you are interested in conducting research in the Dominican Republic under the auspices of Creighton University, please contact Kari Costello, DBA, Vice Provost for Global Engagement, to obtain an outline of the proposal guidelines at karicostello@creighton.edu.

Please note that in addition to meeting ethical requirements for research with human subjects, Creighton University is also committed to safeguarding the reputation and integrity of our partner organizations in the Dominican Republic. Because of the close nature of our partnership, the Centro de Educacion par la Salud Integral (CESI) and Creighton University's Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC) are often perceived as the same organization by local community members.  Therefore, all research proposals must include clarification of how CESI will be involved or how research participants will be made aware that CESI is not a sponsor of the research initiative.

Therefore, research proposals must clearly identify to what degree partner organizations in the Dominican Republic would be engaged in the proposed research.

The term "engaged" refers to the guidance provided by the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP). Briefly, "an 'engaged' non-U.S. organization is one whose employees or agents participate in the recruitment of subjects, conduct the consent process, obtain consent form subjects, intervene with human subjects for research purposes, or receive the private, identifiable information of subjects."

Organizations are not considered engaged in the research if their employees or agents: "inform prospective subjects about the availability of the research; provide prospective subjects with information about the research (which may include a copy of the relevant informed consent document and other IRB approved materials) but do not obtain subjects' consent for the research or act as representatives of the investigators; provide prospective subjects with information about contacting investigators for information or enrollment; and/or seek or obtain the prospective subjects' permission for investigators to contact them."

For a full description of the concept of "engagement" see OHRP's Guidance on Engagement of Institutions in Human Subjects Research.

Creighton University has a growing partnership with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) regarding research activities in the Dominican Republic. The ILAC Research Advisory Board may determine that a research proposal also be reviewed by the PUCMM Institutional Review Board to ascertain whether the the research complies with Dominican Republic regulations that govern research.

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