Exploring Diabetes Clinical Trial Participation: A Diverse Group Interview Study

Area of Science:

• Health disparities
• Clinical trial recruitment
• Health equity

Background:

• Native Hawaiian (NH), Pacific Islander (PI), and Filipino individuals have high type 2 diabetes rates but are underrepresented in clinical trials.
• Ensuring diverse participation in clinical trials is crucial for treatment safety and efficacy across all populations.
• Understanding motivations and barriers for underrepresented groups is key to improving trial inclusivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore motivations, barriers, and communication preferences for clinical trial participation.
• To focus on diverse hospitalized patients, especially underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.
• To inform strategies for equitable clinical trial enrollment.

Main Methods:

• In-person, semi-structured interviews with 56 hospitalized patients in Hawai'i.
• Participants ranked reasons for trial participation and answered open-ended questions.
• Quantitative data were summarized descriptively; qualitative data underwent Rapid Qualitative Analysis by race/ethnicity.

Main Results:

• 84% of participants were willing to join a trial, yet most had never been invited.
• Motivations varied: NH prioritized community/treatment access, PI focused on doctor/science, Filipino on treatments/science, White participants on incentives/community.
• Barriers included medication risk concerns, lack of understanding, and mistrust, particularly in PI and Filipino groups. Family benefit was a key motivator for NH and PI.
• Preferred communication: physician referrals, text messages, and physical mail across groups.

Conclusions:

• Culturally tailored recruitment emphasizing family and community benefits is essential.
• Involving trusted local healthcare providers can enhance participation.
• Utilizing culturally relevant communication strategies may improve clinical trial enrollment among underrepresented populations with type 2 diabetes.