Efforts to recruit the economically disadvantaged to national clinical trials

Clinical trials are vital for the development of state-of-the-art cancer prevention and treatment. A goal for trial recruitment should be to have a representative sample of the total population by gender, race, culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status as appropriate. Increased sensitivity to the unique barriers and access to care issues required to achieve a representative sample are necessary. Knowledge and understanding of recruitment problems and strategies to resolve them are developing; however, much more is needed before we can fully address and resolve all of the relevant issues. Nurses have a key role in identification, education, and recruitment of special populations including the SED to clinical trials.