Commentary: clinician and researcher contributions to disparities in racial and ethnic minority participation in human subjects research

Despite efforts focused on outreach to minority populations, the literature reveals that the problem of disparities in minority involvement in clinical research persists. Thus, the objective of this article was to present an overview of the barriers to engage minorities in human subject research and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEthnicity & disease Vol. 24; no. 3; p. 298
Main Author Charleswell, Cherise A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.07.2014
Subjects
Attitude of Health Personnel
Biomedical Research - ethics
Biomedical Research - organization & administration
Ethnic Groups
Healthcare Disparities - ethics
Healthcare Disparities - ethnology
Humans
Minority Groups
Patient Selection - ethics
Research Personnel - ethics
Research Personnel - psychology
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Summary:Despite efforts focused on outreach to minority populations, the literature reveals that the problem of disparities in minority involvement in clinical research persists. Thus, the objective of this article was to present an overview of the barriers to engage minorities in human subject research and the identification of promising strategies for their recruitment and retention. I identified a need for an innovative approach, which would focus recruitment efforts primarily on clinicians and researchers who contribute their own barriers to the process of recruitment and retention. In this way, the most common outreach efforts, which specifically focus on targeted minority groups, would be replaced. The inclusion of minorities in clinical research is an important bioethical issue, particularly when considering drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, which may vary widely among different racial and ethnic populations. In conclusion, patient barriers to participation in clinical research are well-documented and remain of great importance; however, clinician and researcher barriers, equally as important, continue to be overlooked. Focusing on clinicians and researchers is needed to help increase their awareness about the barriers to minority participation that they may present. Continued research and efforts are needed to understand how best to identify, address, and overcome these barriers.
ISSN:1049-510X