222734 To Participate or Not: Factors Associated with Minority Communities' Willingness to Engage in Research

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 5:06 PM - 5:18 PM

Mary A. Garza, PhD, MPH , Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & Research Center of Excellence in Minority Health Disparities, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Sandra C. Quinn, PhD , Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & Research Center of Excellence on Minority Health Disparities, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Craig S. Fryer, DrPH, MPH , Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & Research Center of Excellence on Minority Health Disparities, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
James Butler III, DrPH, MEd , Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & Research Center of Excellence on Minority Health Disparities, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Stephen B. Thomas, PhD , Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & Research Center of Excellence on Minority Health Disparities, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
BACKGROUND: Minority populations account for about 33% of all Americans; however, less than 10% of them participate in clinical trials. According to the NIH, “The recruitment and retention of racial and ethnic minorities into clinical trials is a leading challenge confronting clinical researchers and undoubtedly contributes to the persistence of health disparities.” Thus, additional research is needed to identify and understand the factors associated with minority communities' willingness to engage in research, which will lead to effective culturally-tailored interventions to address this disparity. The goal of this study is to examine barriers and facilitators associated with participation of minority populations in public health research and clinical trials. METHODS: We conducted a national telephone survey with a random sample of African American and Latino adults ages 18 years and older (n=3770). The survey, known as “Building Trust,” included several standardized instruments to assess knowledge of research, research terminology, informed consent procedures, human subjects' protections, previous participation in research, previous experiences with health care delivery, social support, risk perception, religiousness, and trust. In addition, data collection of socio-demographic variables was matched with census tract variables to assess for regional differences. RESULTS: This presentation will highlight findings from the nationally representative telephone survey, which specifically focused on African American and Latino adults about barriers and facilitators associated with willingness to participate in research. CONCLUSION: Information from the survey can inform the development of culturally-tailored interventions to successfully recruit and retain minorities into public health research and clinical trials.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
By the end of the session, each participant will be able to: 1) Describe barriers and facilitators associated with willingness to engage in research as identified by minority populations; and 2) Discuss strategies associated with recruitment of minority populations into public health research and clinical trials.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Research Ethics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over 15 years experience conducting health disparities research plus I am a co-investigator on this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.