African Americans’ Trust and the Medical Research Community

Abstract

African Americans have been victims in many of the medical atrocities involving human subject research. It is well established that African Americans are less likely to enroll in research protocols and have more distrust of the medical field than any other ethnic group due to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Researchers must be responsible for creating a trustworthy environment. The creation of a cultural competency curriculum designed specifically for training researchers is warranted and will help open the communication barrier between researcher and participant. Trust must be created before the distrust of the medical research community will be resolved. This paper describes successful recruitment strategies that help foster a trusting environment and increase enrollment. Enrollment increase will help lead to understanding disparities and creating solutions.