June 4, 2021: Inclusion of Diverse Participants in Pragmatic Clinical Trials: Planning for Diversity – Stakeholder Engagement and Site Selection to Maximize Diversity (Wendy Weber, ND, PhD, MPH; Julie Fritz, PhD, PT; David Wetter, PhD, MS; Gloria Coronado, PhD; Amanda Petrik, MS)

Speakers

Panelists:

BeatPain Utah  
Julie Fritz, PhD, PT
Associate Dean for Research, College of Health
Adjunct Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
Distinguished Professor, Physical Therapy & Athletic Training
Adjunct Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery Operations
University of Utah  

David Wetter, PhD, MS
Professor, Population Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor, Psychology
University of Utah  

STOP CRC  
Gloria Coronado, PhD
Distinguished Investigator Mitch Greenlick Endowed Scientist for Health Disparities
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research  

Amanda Petrik, MS
Sr. Research Associate Center for Health Research
Kaiser Permanente Northwest

Guest Moderator:

Wendy Weber, ND, PhD, MPH
Chief, Clinical Research in Complementary and Integrative Health Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Topic

Inclusion of Diverse Participants in Pragmatic Clinical Trials: Planning for Diversity – Stakeholder Engagement and Site Selection to Maximize Diversity

Keywords

Participant diversity; Stakeholder engagement strategies; STOP CRC; BeatPain Utah; Health equity; Community health centers; Plan-Do-Study-Act

Key Points

  • Disparities in pain prevalence and pain management are well established. In particular, odds of receiving opioids for pain management are greater, and odds of nonpharmacologic care lower, in rural, low income, and Latinx communities.
  • It is essential that communities and researchers come together to create long-term solutions to prevent cancer, chronic and infectious disease, and improve health among underserved populations. Research projects should be driven by the priorities of community partners.
  • Study advisory boards can include health center leaders, patient advocates, legislators, and community organization leaders. These boards provide local context and, in the case of STOP CRC, they identified policy changes that were needed around access to colorectal cancer screening.

Discussion Themes

Sharing information and resources with community partners—and responding to their needs and building their capacity—helps to build trust around medicine and research.

To what extent is it important to show evidence of interest in and respect for the community beyond the specific focus of your initiative? For example, participating in important community activities and developing a deeper understanding of the culture.

We must design and plan for sustainability at the outset, and we must make targeted, specific efforts to ensure the inclusion of diverse populations in clinical trials.

Another way to increase diversity is to prepare and train more scientists and investigators from diverse populations.

Read more about the BeatPain Utah and STOP CRC Demonstration Projects.

Tags

#pctGR, @Collaboratory1