CROs that foster an inclusive culture make clinical trials more diverse

Better planning can help CROs and sponsors make clinical trials inclusive according to new research which suggests organizations need to really commit to make drug studies more diverse.

The research – published in the current edition of Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications – set out to identify the organizational elements involved in the active implementation of racially and ethnically diverse inclusive recruitment practices for biopharmaceutical-funded trials in the US.

The authors quizzed clinical research site professionals involved in recruiting diverse trial participants and identified five key elements associated with increased diversity – roughly 40% or more diverse participants vs. the current average of 17%.

These elements included the provision of culturally appropriate trial education, a structure tailored for diverse recruitment, a strong sense of mission related to improving healthcare, a general culture of inclusion and inclusive, evolving recruitment practices based on learning.

According to the authors “The findings from this study provide a foundation for exploring environmental elements that may be involved with inclusive recruitment.

“Understanding research site characteristics facilitated an understanding of what elements are involved in the active recruitment of diverse participants into industry-funded clinical trials at an organizational level. The interview findings may help to inform the application of practices that promote clinical trial diversity.”

They argue that by applying similar inclusive recruitment practices, industry stakeholders involved with clinical research can better support organizational initiatives focused on improving access to biopharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials for racially and ethnically diverse participants.

They write that “Improving clinical trial diversity requires a multi-stakeholder effort across the broader clinical trial ecosystem, of which research sites represent one component.

“Applying the initiatives discussed at a research site level are among many required across a multitude of stakeholders in order to achieve sustainable progress with improving access and inclusivity in clinical research” the authors conclude.

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