A team of faculty members in public health, pharmacy, and biomedical sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana has published a new study exploring how healthcare professionals and researchers can recruit more Black communities for clinical trials.
For their research, the Xavier team conducted four focus group studies to understand the perceptions of clinical trials among Black Americans. The discussions revealed that Black Americans are worried about participating in clinical trials due to past historical medical abuses of the Black community. Other barriers to participation included possible health risks associated with trials, as well as logistical issues that make it hard to participate.
However, the discussions also revealed several avenues that could help increase Black Americans’ participation in medical trials. The focus group participants said they would consider joining a clinical trial if it helped their communities, if they received compensation for participating, and if the process was easy and convenient.
Additionally, the focus group participants also emphasized the importance of clear communication regarding trials and suggested that direct engagement between researchers and community partners could help increase Black Americans’ interest in trial participation.
