Majority of trials do not specify Black enrollment target and do not report specific plans to enroll Black adults in their studies<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Black adults are underrepresented in U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded cardiovascular trials, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association<\/em>.<\/p>\n Anagha Prasanna, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues systematically reviewed NIH-funded cardiovascular clinical trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov between 2000 and 2019. The enrollment of Black adults and the use of evidence-based recruitment strategies were evaluated.<\/p>\n The researchers reported on 100 clinical trials focused on cardiovascular disease, of which 62 percent had published protocols and 46 percent had enrolled populations that were <25 percent Black. Roughly one in five trials (21 percent) defined a recruitment target for underrepresented groups, but only one study reported achieving its enrollment goal. There was an association between defining recruitment targets and higher enrollment of Black participants. Community-based recruitment strategies were referenced by 13 percent of trial protocols, but only 5 percent explicitly mentioned involving community members in the trial design process.<\/p>\n “Previous efforts to address lower participation by Black adults have focused on individual or community characteristics, such as mistrust, transportation and socioeconomic factors,” a coauthor said in a statement. “However, investigators also play a critical role during the study design phase by defining recruitment goals and formulating recruitment strategy to meet those goals.”<\/p>\n