271453 Sentinel Network: Increasing health research participation

Monday, October 29, 2012

Khai Nguyen , Internal Medicine, University of California - Davis, Sacramento, CA
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, PhD , Center for Reducing Health Disparities, University of California Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA
BACKGROUND: Current findings from health research do not fully account for genetic, age, gender, racial and ethnic differences due to underrepresentation of women, the elderly, ethnic and racial populations in research. Hence, the purpose of this study is to understand the motivations and barriers to health research participation in five community sites. METHOD: Community health workers (CHWs) from the Sentinel Network (Washington University, U.C. Davis, U. Michigan, U. Rochester, Einstein) administered a common assessment regarding top health concerns, self-reported health conditions, and willingness to participate in different types of health research to community members at various venues. RESULTS: CHWs administered the assessment to 5979 participants (59.4% women and average age of 42). Hypertension, diabetes, and cancer were the top reported health concerns. The top self-reported health condition was hypertension. Of those surveyed, 17.1% have been in a health research study and 87.3% were interested in participating. CONCLUSION: The top reported health concerns were consistent across the five sites. Although there was great interest in participating in health research studies, the number of people who reported to have participated in health studies was quite low. This discrepancy suggests that it is not the lack of interest but other barriers that contribute to low levels of health research participation.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
List the top health concerns of community members. Assess the level of interest in health research participation.

Keywords: Community Response, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have done research in the area of health disparities, specifically on the topics of health research participation and medication adherence.
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.