The participant makeup of many current trials is not accurately representative of real-world populations. This recent article tackles this and other pressing issues around creating more inclusive research. #clinicalresearch #clinicaltrials #Inclusiveresearch
It's becoming more and more important to include people from all backgrounds in clinical trials. The recent FDA guidance is a great example of this. In an article for Harvard Medical School, Alice McCarthy dives into why inclusivity matters and how it's been handled in clinical research so far. There are a couple of main points from the article below that we want to highlight: There's a big discrepancy in who's included in clinical trials. A lot of current clinical trials don't include a representative sample of the population. For example, a 2020 analysis showed that only 8% of participants were Black, 6% Asian, and 11% Hispanic, even though these groups make up a larger portion of the U.S. population. This means that treatments can be ineffective or even harmful for diverse populations. Drug responses can vary a lot based on genetic and ethnic backgrounds. The importance of inclusivity: Not having a diverse group of people involved in clinical trials makes the results less reliable and makes health disparities worse. Regulatory bodies like the FDA are now saying it's really important to make sure that trials include people from all backgrounds. They're pushing for strategies that will help make sure that new treatments are more effective and can be used by more people. Since this article was written, we've seen some efforts in the industry to drive more diversity and inclusivity in clinical trials, but there's still a way to go. We believe that getting the community involved is the best way to make clinical trials a viable healthcare option for everyone. Building trust and making trials more accessible by expanding sites are the most important parts of any community strategy. ❓ But how can we do that in the real world? We've been able to do that thanks to our network of independent community pharmacists. They're trusted by their communities and patients, and they can facilitate personalized communication and consider patients' SDoH (Social Determinants of Health). This makes clinical trials more patient-centric and therefore more inclusive. Read the whole article in the link below 👇 Let us know what you think? How do you think we can improve inclusivity in clinical research right now? #cllinicaltrials #Inclusivity #DEI