The Need For Clinical Trial Diversity: How We Got Here And Where We're Headed

In commenting on today's interpretation of health equity, Ricki Fairley, CEO of Touch, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance, probably said it best in an IPG Health-sponsored webinar, stating that the term refers to “when a doctor treats a patient like they’re family.” In recent years, similar phrases like “pharmacoequity” and “techquity” have also been coined to reference the exploration of pharmaceuticals and technology as tools for achieving health equity.

Regardless of semantics, the purpose of health equity is to increase awareness of and access to medical treatments. Equally important is health literacy, meaning that individuals will also need to have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions. If equity and literacy don't go hand-in-hand correctly, there will undoubtedly be challenges when it comes to clinical trial diversity or the inclusion of underrepresented segments of the population in medical research.

Census figures from 2021 show that ethnic and racial minorities comprise over 40% of the U.S. population; however, in the Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2020 data snapshot on diversity and inclusion among trials, 75% of participants were white. Among 32,000 patients participating in these trials, just 11% were Hispanic and less than 10% were Black or Asian.

In this article, writers observe the many milestones of mistrust in clinical trials, catch-22s, challenges, and where we go from here. Learn how the representation of underserved populations in clinical trials can be improved with the help of patients, professionals, advocacy groups, and community organizations.