| The relative absence of African-Americans and other racial/ethnic minorities among medical research subjects is receiving considerable attention because of recent government mandates for their inclusion in all human subject research. Therefore there is a need to determine how history, attitudes, cultural beliefs, social issues, and investigator behavior affect minority enrollment in medical research studies.;During 1998--1999,198 residents of the Detroit PMSA participated in a mail and telephone survey designed to determine barriers to African-American participation in medical research studies. Ninety-one study participants (46%) were African-American, 88 (44%) were Caucasian, and 19 (10%) were from other racial/ethnic groups. This study evaluated the willingness of African-Americans to participate in medical research, the influence of the Tuskegee Study on the willingness to participate, and beliefs about the ethical conduct of research. Also examined were exposure to medical research opportunities and the importance of race in the routine medical setting.;Study results indicate that African-Americans in the Detroit, PMSA have similar exposures to medical research opportunities as Caucasians. Within the city of Detroit, however, African-Americans were less likely to have been exposed to medical research opportunities, particularly if they received routine care in a private doctors office. Results also indicate that the relationship between race and the willingness to participate in a medical research is related to the trust of medical researchers. African-American respondents were less willing to participate if they attributed high importance to race when seeking routine medical care, perceived the quality of medical care they receive as less than average and if they believed that minorities bear most of the medical research risks.;These data reiterate the need to increase awareness of medical research opportunities among private physicians who treat African-Americans, to partner with minority communities, and to eliminate situations that cause distrust. Steps individual investigators can take include designing consent forms that are accurate, concise and at appropriate reading levels. Investigators should also discuss previous medical abuse of minorities and their specific plans to protect study participants and provide an explanation for studies that specifically target or that are likely to result in disproportionate representation of racial/ethnic minorities. |
