Underrepresentation of Hispanics and Other Minorities in Clinical Trials: Recruiters' Perspectives
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A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Aurora Occa1, Susan E Morgan2, JoNell E Potter3
1School of Communication, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. aurora.occa@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Clinical trials and research studies often fail to recruit participants from the minorities, hampering the generalizability of results. In order to mitigate this problem, the present study investigated how race/ethnicity affects the process of recruiting people from racial and ethnic minority groups, by conducting 11 focus groups with professional recruiters. Several themes emerged, such as how to adapt to potential participants' language competency and literacy levels, the importance to engage in culturally appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication, and to establish a sense of homophily between recruiters and patients. In addition, recruiters pointed out possible solutions to accommodate socioeconomic concerns, to adapt to contextual factors-including immigration status-and ultimately to respond to potential participants' mistrust of medical research. These findings are discussed, and future recommendations are provided.
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