Table 3.

Structural and intercultural domains and criteria

	Research team building and research questions	Study design, recruitment, data collection and data analysis	Dissemination
Cultural awareness and reflexivity	1. Reflexivity on cultural and ethnic team composition compared with the populations under study. 2. Tools and instruments for ensuring team reflexivity.	9. Awareness of cultural biases from previous research done on a similar topic/population. 10. Reflexivity on social and cultural sources of potential bias or imprecision. 11. Considering the association of missing data with sociocultural characteristics of populations under study.	19. Inclusion of the groups under study in the dissemination plan through reflexivity and awareness on the potential linguistic, cultural and social gaps.
Cultural validation	3. Awareness of the lay/expert decalages. 4. Adequate use of categories such as race, culture and ethnicity in the research questions.	12. Cultural and linguistic validation of informed consent, and of instruments such as questionnaires and scales. 13. Integration of qualitative research (eg, in-depth interviews and focus groups) and/or mixed methods in the epidemiological design and the selection of instruments.	20. Dissemination outputs addressed and culturally tailored to the population under study.
Sensitivity to cultural diversity and structural vulnerabilities	5. Team training in intercultural and structural competence. 6. Cultural and social knowledge of populations under study, including ethnic minorities and marginalised groups, and lay perspectives on the topics of study. 7. Knowledge about the medical history of the country/community in which the research is taking place and the legacy that medical research has on ethnic minorities/hidden populations.	14. Including cultural variables in the study design. Assessing causal mechanisms associated with these variables and the limitations of using these variables as proxies for more complex categories. 15. Including social determinants of health and structural vulnerability variables in the study design. 16. Use of local knowledge to interpret findings, for example, local ideas and beliefs regarding disease aetiology or transmission.	21. Consideration of the cultural and social specificities of the population studied in the conclusions, recommendations and application of the results of the study.
Representativeness of minority groups and excluded populations	8. Representativeness of cultural diversity and civil society in the team, including lay participants and/or minority and marginalised groups.	17. Facilitating the participation of excluded groups and minorities through sample representativeness. 18. Assessing the social and cultural barriers to their participation in the study.	22. Promoting the participation of excluded groups and minorities in the dissemination and RRI activities.

RRI, Responsible Research and Innovation.