Ways To Improve Diversity In Clinical Trials
- Actively do outreach to minorities through community groups
- Enlist minority patients who’ve gone through clinical trials to speak to their advantages
- Encourage medical caregivers, like physicians, of the same race to explain the risks and benefits of a clinical trial to underrepresented minorities
Compared to the general population, Black patients and other minorities are underrepresented in clinical trials. It’s imperative this changes; opening up these clinical trials to a wider range of minorities could increase their chances of survival. Clinical trials are research studies that have moved beyond just research in a lab, and now involve people. Doctors conduct clinical trials to find new ways to improve treatments and the quality of life for people with cancer.
Why are minorities not taking advantage of these clinical trials and how can we fix it? Dr. Ted Teknos, president and scientific director of University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland explains part of the problem:
“There’s a lot of mistrust, understandably so, in the African American community about clinical trials — dating back to the Tuskegee trials and the ‘fifties — and a lot of mistrust about healthcare organizations in general.”
Steps to Encourage Change
Understanding that history can help the healthcare community better provide access to clinical trials for our African American and minority populations, he notes. To address the problem requires a multipronged approach:
- We’ve created community outreach groups that meet in places of worship and other community centers in an effort to describe the benefits of clinical trials to our underrepresented minority populations in a very systematic way.
- We’ve enlisted the help of patient advocates who’ve gone through clinical trials and can speak to the advantages they saw by participating in their clinical trial.
- And finally, having caregivers who are of the same race helps significantly. So we very intentionally tried to enroll and enlist as many of our African American caregivers — physicians, advanced practice providers, and clinical research specialists — to explain the risks and benefits of a clinical trial to our underrepresented minorities.
“Minorities are much more likely to enroll if someone like themselves describes the risks and benefits associated with with a clinical trial to them,” says Dr. Teknos. “And I think that’s a winning strategy.”
The National Cancer Institute offers a list of clinical trials they sponsor or support financially and offers this guide to finding clinical trials.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Ted Teknos is president and scientific director of the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Deputy Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Read More
Ways To Improve Diversity In Clinical Trials
- Actively do outreach to minorities through community groups
- Enlist minority patients who’ve gone through clinical trials to speak to their advantages
- Encourage medical caregivers, like physicians, of the same race to explain the risks and benefits of a clinical trial to underrepresented minorities
Compared to the general population, Black patients and other minorities are underrepresented in clinical trials. It’s imperative this changes; opening up these clinical trials to a wider range of minorities could increase their chances of survival. Clinical trials are research studies that have moved beyond just research in a lab, and now involve people. Doctors conduct clinical trials to find new ways to improve treatments and the quality of life for people with cancer.
Why are minorities not taking advantage of these clinical trials and how can we fix it? Dr. Ted Teknos, president and scientific director of University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland explains part of the problem:
Read More “There’s a lot of mistrust, understandably so, in the African American community about clinical trials — dating back to the Tuskegee trials and the ‘fifties — and a lot of mistrust about healthcare organizations in general.”
Steps to Encourage Change
Understanding that history can help the healthcare community better provide access to clinical trials for our African American and minority populations, he notes. To address the problem requires a multipronged approach:
- We’ve created community outreach groups that meet in places of worship and other community centers in an effort to describe the benefits of clinical trials to our underrepresented minority populations in a very systematic way.
- We’ve enlisted the help of patient advocates who’ve gone through clinical trials and can speak to the advantages they saw by participating in their clinical trial.
- And finally, having caregivers who are of the same race helps significantly. So we very intentionally tried to enroll and enlist as many of our African American caregivers — physicians, advanced practice providers, and clinical research specialists — to explain the risks and benefits of a clinical trial to our underrepresented minorities.
“Minorities are much more likely to enroll if someone like themselves describes the risks and benefits associated with with a clinical trial to them,” says Dr. Teknos. “And I think that’s a winning strategy.”
The National Cancer Institute offers a list of clinical trials they sponsor or support financially and offers this guide to finding clinical trials.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Ted Teknos is president and scientific director of the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Deputy Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Read More
