It is estimated that globally, the market for Clinical Trials is in upwards of $44 Billion as of 2020 and is expected to grow by approx 6% over the next 7 years, mostly fueled by the need to address chronic disease prevalence in developing countries. Recruiting Black (2% of all clinical trial participants), the indigenous, LatinX and the working poor and other underrepresented minorities for clinical trials has historically been a challenge and successful at the same time, as reported by the FDA.
If you are in charge of marketing and recruiting for clinical trials affecting this demographic, how would you engage and address this important issue in an effort to bring high quality care to this community?
It is estimated that globally, the market for Clinical Trials is in upwards of $44 Billion as of 2020 and is expected to grow by approx 6% over the next 7 years, mostly fueled by the need to address chronic disease prevalence in developing countries. Recruiting Black (2% of all clinical trial participants), the indigenous, LatinX and the working poor and other underrepresented minorities for clinical trials has historically been a challenge and successful at the same time, as reported by the FDA.
If you are in charge of marketing and recruiting for clinical trials affecting this demographic, how would you engage and address this important issue in an effort to bring high quality care to this community?
One thing I would do is find the reputable, well-known and respected members of that community and speak with him/ her about the plan. If that person's opinion greatly matters to the community, it could be most beneficial to make a good impression. I would also have a Town Hall of sorts to introduce one or two representatives from the clinical trials. This would give people a chance to see the group and make decisions based on what they learned. These ideas are just a start.
In order to recruit I would really dive deep into the community and interact with people within the community. Listen to there issues and try to relate to them. I would inform them about the impact that they would have if they were involved with this clinical trial. I also would contact a high profile individual that is known in the community and get them to influence and encourage members of the community to participate. Lastly, I would ensure the safety of participants due to past encounters that have occurred involved different races that participate in clinical trials.
It is estimated that globally, the market for Clinical Trials is in upwards of $44 Billion as of 2020 and is expected to grow by approx 6% over the next 7 years, mostly fueled by the need to address chronic disease prevalence in developing countries.
I would start by getting some clarification on the statistics of the clinical trial market and minority participation rates in the United States. The global participation demographic may be different than that of the US, especially in countries where our perceived minority is the majority.
Beyond that I would start with probing the desired community and how they would like to address chronic disease before the product really even goes into development, much greater, clinical trials. ONce the need is identified in the relative community, I would talk to subject matter experts from that community inan effort to boost recruitment into clinical trials, this may be doctors from the community, pharmacists, engineers, chemists etc. I would also look into contact experts from relative professional organizations.
If I were in charge of marketing for this industry, I would market to universities and colleges that have programs such as the Biotechnology program that we are in now and let them know about how we can enhance their career. On order to engage POC and to have them break into the industry, you have to let them know that there is a space for them in the industry and they they will grow significantly and not just be to increase diversity in the company. I would also use channels to be visible to the community such as social media, advertisements, sending flyers to the school, being apart of forums to spark the conversation, having open houses to let them know what the industry is, and getting connected with the career department of the school.
It is estimated that globally, the market for Clinical Trials is in upwards of $44 Billion as of 2020 and is expected to grow by approx 6% over the next 7 years, mostly fueled by the need to address chronic disease prevalence in developing countries. Recruiting Black (2% of all clinical trial participants), the indigenous, LatinX and the working poor and other underrepresented minorities for clinical trials has historically been a challenge and successful at the same time, as reported by the FDA.
If you are in charge of marketing and recruiting for clinical trials affecting this demographic, how would you engage and address this important issue in an effort to bring high quality care to this community?
If I were in charge of marketing and recruiting for clinical trials I was working more on the outreach side. By actually going to those communities where American American, Latinos, and indigoes people are to recruit them. I would help go to the local health clinics and hospitals to give information to those nurses and doctor in hopes that they to could help recruit individual from those target group for the clinical trials.
Recruiting diverse and underrepresented populations for clinical trials is crucial for the development of equitable healthcare solutions. It can be challenging to do so in a proper fashion. If I were in charge of marketing and recruiting for clinical trials, I would first ensure that my recruiting/marketing teams are culturally competent and sensitive to the specific needs and concerns of the community that I would be targeting. Additionally, I would ensure that the recruitment materials are in multiple languages and are easy to understand so as to accommodate the individuals in the different communities that would be targeted. Lastly, I would provide the marketing/recruitment team with the necessary training to ensure that they are sensitive to the needs of the underrepresented communities. All in all, it is important to build trust and establish strong relationships with the underrepresented communities so that they feel heard and represented in the healthcare community.
@archishak I agree that it is extremely important to have a competent team of cultured individuals to reach out to these specific populations. Not that it wouldn't be reasonable, but I would argue that people are much more comfortable having something in common with the person speaking to them. Outreach to someone popular that is FROM that community would be essential to the success of implementing clinical trials for these populations. Also, I think it would be fantastic to start off with communities that have some sort of religious background. Going to local churches, mosques, temples, etc. that practice giving back to the community would be the ideal individuals who would (in my eyes) take time out of their day to further assist with these trials as it would benefit their community and others around them that have been left out for so long. Finally, I think it is also important to have some sort of incentive to completing these trials. It doesn't have to be much, but going back to the religion example, I think being able to give some donations to these different locations that participate in these trials would be a fantastic way of integrating further cooperation. I think that also giving "rewards" to a wide range of these religions that share similar values will encourage further togetherness from those who may not necessarily be as religiously savvy.
Some common aspects touched upon for recruiting underrepresented communities for clinical trials were building trust, making the process more accessible, and ensuring the message has some form of relatability and clarity. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is the long term engagement with the community, beyond the engagement of the experimental trials. Many recruitment efforts focus on getting people to sign up for their trial, however once the study has completed, the relationship with the community often ends. This can actually add feelings of distrust and adds to the notion that the experiment was actually for the benefit of the company running the experiment and not so much for the participant. To address this, it is important to maintain some kind of contact with the participants after the experiment is over. For example, sharing the results of the trials and share the impact their participation has contributed to the medical community. Follow up meetings are a simple but perfect way to conduct this. This sense of partnership that is fostered promotes a engaging sense of participation as well, which could bring in more subjects for the experiment!
Maintaining a diverse demographic across clinical trials is beneficial not only for collecting efficient data, but it is also advantageous in the sense that people across all backgrounds are given opportunities to experience and likely benefit from their participation in trials. It is unfortunate that the underrepresented minority groups mentioned constitute such a small fraction of clinical trial participants.
In many cases, I believe this may be an issue related to the marketing tactics used in recruiting participants. To achieve an increase in interest for participation from these minority groups, it is first important to reach out to respected members of these communities directly. It is important to first and foremost communicate with these members that their demographics are in fact underrepresented in clinical trials, providing statistics like the ones you mentioned. I would then describe to these members the types of clinical trial opportunities available, emphasizing that participation can introduce high-quality care into the community. I would collaborate with these members to strategize effective marketing techniques within their communities to achieve the most successful outreach. These members could relay the information to other members of their community, as well, serving as word-of-mouth marketing.
