Back toUpdated on October 23, 2024
Diversity is important in clinical trials due to genetic, metabolic, social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to disease outcomes.
Transcript
Hey, Dr. McCutchen. Hepatitis C seems to disproportionately affect Black people. Why is that?
That's actually a really great question. Let's take a deeper dive. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Clinical trials help medical professionals find safe and effective treatments for people with certain diseases.
Participants in these trials should accurately represent the population of those most affected by whatever
the disease is being studied. Meaning if a certain gender, age, or ethnicity group
is disproportionately affected by a certain disease, then a clinical trial should accurately represent that population in order
to obtain the most accurate data. For example, hepatitis C disproportionately affects African-Americans in the United States.
You think that this would mean that in clinical trials for hepatitis C treatments a majority of the participants
would be African-American. However, that is not the case. The FDA has recommended racial and ethnic data
be collected for all clinical trials, but it's not a requirement. A recent study of hepatitis C clinical trials
that did report race found that only about 13% of participants were African-American. If reporting race data becomes a requirement,
appropriate measures can be taken to make sure those who need to participate in the trials the most are represented.
Race is important in clinical trials due to the genetic, metabolic, social, economic, and cultural factors that
contribute to disease outcomes. Treatment isn't one-size fits all, and without this data, it can make treating certain populations more
difficult and less accurate. Factors that can contribute to lack of diversity in clinical trials are the lack of insurance,
which would exclude people from participating in certain clinical trials, limited flexibility at work
to participate, trial sites are not easily accessible, and the lack of awareness and information
about the clinical trials. Recruiting people for clinical trials may be difficult when reaching out to certain communities. African-Americans may be hesitant to participate
in clinical trials due to the systemic racism that still plagues our country. It is important to rebuild trust in minority communities
so that they can be properly cared for. Diversity in clinical trials means that new drugs and treatments can be more safe and effective
