Course Description
The achievement of diverse participation in clinical trials is critical to the attainment of new therapies and prevention products. Understanding the rationale for this inclusion provides the blueprint for changing the face of recruitment. While this inclusiveness is important to the generalizability of data, evidence exists that there is an ongoing underrepresentation of specific subgroups in clinical studies. Researchers have identified several barriers as factors that inhibit diverse patients’ enrollment into clinical trials. Evaluating these barriers allows opportunity to develop recruitment strategies that can reduce the impact of these challenges and improve the current state of diversity in clinical trials.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the rationale for diverse population inclusion in clinical trials
2. Review the barriers associated with recruiting diverse populations in clinical trials
3. Discuss effective recruitment strategies to enhance diversity in clinical trials
Karen Brooks has over 22 years of clinical research experience. She is currently a Sr. Director Therapeutic Area Lead for Oncology and Early Phase Clinical Operations, in Pfizer’s Development Operations Group. She also serves on the Pfizer Initiative for Increasing Clinical Trial Diversity. Her prior roles included Director of Clinical Projects at Sanofi-Aventis where she also led an initiative to increase diversity in clinical trials. Her extensive years of experience have afforded her the opportunity to work with many investigators, study teams, recruitment and niche recruitment providers, as well as sponsor companies with the initiative to improve the inclusion of minorities and women in clinical trials. Ms. Brooks is currently pursuing her PhD in International HealthCare Research from Trident University focusing her research on African Americans/Blacks’ willingness to participate in clinical trials.
