Historically, there has been an under representation of minorities, women, and low-income populations in medical research. Though the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 mandated the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research, many factors still contribute to their low participation rates. These factors include mistrust, fear, burdens of participation, and lack of understanding. In order to increase their participation, the field must gain a greater understanding of their reasons for nonparticipation. A cancer research hospital based in NYC recruited Medicaid patients to participate in a onetime study that included the scale, "Attitudes and Beliefs about Medical Research”. The results will have implications for treating and recruiting underserved populations in clinical research studies. Screening data was collected on N=285 patients, which represents 60.66% (n=165/272) females and 39.34% (n=107/272) males with a mean age of 51.65 (s.d.=10.26) ranging from 31 to 66 (N=281). The sample disproportionately represented minorities with an ethnic breakdown of 6.67% (n=19/283) Asian, 16.61% (n=47/283) Hispanic, 22.97% (n=65/283) African American and 46.29% (n=131/283) Caucasian. The psychometric properties of the scale will be explored; this scale represents a 35 Likert item scale that focuses on perceived benefits, risks, exploitations, and barriers to participation in research studies. An ANOVA procedure will test whether there are group differences related to one's attitude and participation in research studies. The results will suggest possible reasons for low participation and will suggest ways to overcome this problem in future studies.
Learning Objectives: 1) Understand the history of heath care policies, which protect human subjects. 2) Describe group differences regarding one's attitudes about medical research. 3) Identify clinical and research implications for treating and recruiting underserved populations.
Keywords: Minority Research, Cancer
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.