As Black History Month has drawn to a close, it’s important to remember that disparities in healthcare facing Black Americans have been and remain a 24/7 reality. The pandemic has brought inequities in care to the forefront of conversation, and as patients increasingly make their voices heard, it’s more important than ever to ensure their needs and concerns are addressed. Solutions must begin where all treatments do—clinical research.
Factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, or lifestyle can cause disease to affect people in different ways. These factors may also play a role in determining if a medicine is safe and effective for use in different groups. For this reason, a diverse group of people should be represented in clinical research to help evaluate if investigational medications are safe and effective for the people that they are intended to help.
However, many clinical trials today are made up of as much as 80% White participants, and do not include enough people of different genders, ages, races, and ethnicities. Black people and other people of color are often not represented. We know that medical care must be tailored to all who need it, or people will be left behind, and creating more inclusive clinical trials is a critical first step.
To help address this need, in partnership with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Black Health Matters recently held the “Together We Can: Increasing Diversity in Clinical Trials” event, the first in a series of community conversations with Janssen around the importance of representation in research . The series is one of the latest activations in Janssen’s Research Includes Me campaign, spearheaded by the Janssen Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials (DEICT) team.
Leading the conversation was Janssen DEICT’s Ramona Burress, Associate Director, Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical Trials. She was joined by a panel of subject matter experts, including: Jaszianne Tolbert, MD, Janssen’s Senior Director, Oncology Clinical Development; Gina Lamar Evans, MPH, Founder and CEO of NEFUSE Case Management and Training Services; and Nabilah Talib, M.Ed., Director of Education & Training at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
The live session sought to provide—and spark—dialogue at the community level to show why increased diversity in clinical trials is so vital. The group’s discussion addressed such questions as:
- Why is clinical research important?
- In what way can we use our voice to overcome the real, valid concerns people have about research and past mistreatment of clinical trial participants?
- How can we be an advocate for clinical research with our families, friends and loved ones? Â
The participants reinforced the importance behind open and honest conversations like these as a first step in improving health equity for underserved communities. That is why Janssen DEICT is steadfastly working to better acknowledge, recognize and address the challenges preventing clinical trial participation for these populations around the world, who face a variety of barriers that impact clinical trial enrollment—such as fear and mistrust, lack of awareness and logistical challenges.
To do that, Janssen DEICT has established several practices for engagement, including:
- Working with organizations at the community level to educate people on the clinical trial process and build trust in research.
- Providing educational materials to underrepresented communities, including the Research Includes Me campaign and website, that are customized to address their specific needs and help them make an informed decision about their participation.
- Identifying opportunities to reduce barriers to participation that communities may be facing and implementing tactics to overcome them and make clinical trial participation easier.
Janssen is working to shape the future of clinical trials by ensuring trials are more diverse, inclusive, and equitable, including for those in historically marginalized communities. This can only be achieved with transparency, commitment, and accountability. Watch the following video and visit www.researchincludesme.com to learn more about the clinical trials process and what you can do to help contribute to increased representation and medical breakthroughs for ALL.
This article is brought to you by Janssen.
