262-OR: Recruiting Historically Underrepresented Individuals into Clinical Trials: Key Lessons from Project ECHO Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Individuals underrecruited in diabetes studies include those not seen by an endocrinologist and those from rural, low socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic minority groups. Project ECHO Diabetes aimed to recruit historically excluded participants with insulin-requiring diabetes. Objective: The purpose of this descriptive analysis is to outline and evaluate our recruitment efforts at 9 sites affiliated with the University of Florida. Results: In total, 340 participants with type 1 diabetes and 1225 participants with type 2 diabetes were eligible and approached for recruitment. Local community health centers were funded to recruit for and participate in Project ECHO. Participants were contacted on average 2 times (range 1-13 times) to finalize a consent disposition: Yes, No, or No Response (Table 1) . For those individuals who we categorized as “No Response,” the most common reason was lack of reliable contact information. Conclusions: Recruiting historically underrepresented populations is feasible with repeated touch points. Funding the partnerships with community health centers, who have the trust of the local community and are equipped to address local needs, was key in our recruitment strategy. Language, a common exclusion criteria and barrier to diverse recruitment, was overcome through multi-lingual study staff. Disclosure A.Addala: None. X.Roque: None. L.Figg: None. C.Anez-zabala: None. C.Clark: None. R.Lal: Advisory Panel; Provention Bio, Inc., Consultant; Abbott Diabetes, Biolinq, Capillary Biomedical, Inc., Deep Valley Labs, Gluroo, Morgan Stanley, Tidepool. M.J.Haller: Advisory Panel; SAB Biotherapeutics , Consultant; MannKind Corporation, Sanofi. D.M.Maahs: Advisory Panel; Abbott Diabetes, Eli Lilly and Company, Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Consultant; Aditx Therapeutics, Inc., Biospex. A.F.Walker: None. Funding The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust