Diversity and disparities in research studies and career trajectories in psychiatry

It is well recognized that underrepresented and systematically minoritized groups do not have balanced access to clinical trials as study participants or as research Investigators. However, comprehensive data on the perspective of expert clinicians is largely lacking in the current literature. In this pilot exploration, we collected the opinions of 33 subject matter experts (SME) to identify and explore potential barriers to diversification in clinical trials. The majority of respondents live in North America or Central or Western Europe and identified as not a member of an underrepresented or marginalized group (UMB), with about 15% of respondents being a member of a UMB. Overall, about a quarter of respondents reported making an intentional effort to recruit members of UMB as study participants and identified recruitment challenges linked to two areas: psycho-social barriers and practical barriers. A variety of strategies were employed to improve recruitment including engagement with community leaders, targeted advertising, utilizing databases, and social media campaigns. About half of respondents reported difficulties recruiting Investigators from UMB backgrounds, stating culture and language barriers, perceived lack of interest in the field among individuals from UMB, and lack of information as possible reasons for the challenges.