230490 Architecture of a Community-based Framework Designed to Increase Recruitment of African Americans into Research

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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
Mary A. Garza, PhD, MPH , Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland for Health Equity School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
Andrea L. Smith , Department of Human Genetics & 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
Robin Grubs, PhD , Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate school of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Elizabeth Gettig, MS , Department of Human Genetics, 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
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: The lack of African American participants in biomedical and public health research would be easy to ignore were it not so well documented. The 1993 federal mandate (Public Law PL 103-43) for the inclusion of women and minorities in research conducted with human subjects has not yet resulted in scientific consensus regarding effective methods and procedures needed to respectfully increase participation of African American and other underrepresented minority populations in research. This presentation chronicles the establishment of the Minority Research Recruitment Database (MRRD), a community-based infrastructure designed to facilitate recruitment of African American participants into research. METHODS: The MRRD is anchored by a Family Health History (FHH) profile of all individuals in the database. Participants who completed the FHH were recruited through our Healthy Black Family Project (HBFP), a community-based, culturally-tailored health promotion and disease prevention program focused on common risk factors associated with chronic disease. Upon completion of their FHH, individuals were invited to enroll in the MRRD. The MRRD information is used to identify African Americans who may meet eligibility criteria for existing and future biomedical and public health research studies. RESULTS: To date, 821 people have completed a family health history and 75%(n= 615) of them have consented to enroll in the MRRD. This presentation will highlight findings from our assessment of pertinent socio-demographic (e.g., race, gender, employment, income, education) and psychosocial (e.g., self-rated health, trust in medical research) differences between those who decided to enroll in the MRRD compared to those who declined participation. Additionally, we will highlight important factors of the process when obtaining consent from an African American community sample. CONCLUSION: Findings from this research provide promising evidence of a sustainable community-based infrastructure that is scientifically sound and culturally relevant for the recruitment of African Americans into research. Future research needs to examine the efficacy of this approach regarding the retention of African American populations.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
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 two methods used in the design of the infrastructure to engage African American communities into research; 2)Evaluate at least one critical factor associated with participation in a research recruitment database.

Keywords: Research, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Co-investigator with our Research Center of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities and have been conducting health disparities research for the past 14 years that respectfully engages African American populations.
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.

Back to: 5029.1: Successful Approaches to Reaching Special Populations