African Americans In Research Research Articles

Achieving diversity in study populations: The importance of community engagement.

The majority of clinical trials currently and historically do not include older adults or non-white participants. While more women are being recruited, their numbers are still limited. It is very hard to interpret trial results and apply them to older adults when their participation in clinical trials is limited. The focus of this article is the lack of clinical trial participation by persons of diverse races and ethnicities and the presentation of a model infrastructure grounded in community engagement that is proving to be effective in increasing the interest and participation of older African Americans in research.

Leslie H. Hicks (1927–2020).

Memorializes Leslie H. Hicks (1927-2020). Hicks was born in Washington, DC, where he spent the majority of his career as department chair of psychology at Howard University. He upheld high academic standards, promoted psychological science, and advanced African Americans in research. He cofounded the university's PhD program in psychology (1968). Hicks continued mentoring after retirement in 2016, dedicating nearly 65 years of service as an educator. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Perspectives surrounding brain donation among African American research participants in the Northwestern University Alzheimer’s Disease Center

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s and related dementias (ADRD) disproportionately affect the African American community. Increased participation of African Americans in research is essential to further understand factors related to risk and resilience to ADRD. Brain donation remains the only mechanism to confirm a diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders and is less common among African American research participants compared to White research participants across the US. Previous studies identified knowledge of brain donation, religious and or funeral plans, family support of decision, and distrust of medical/research community as important factors in African American participation in brain donation. However, perspectives of African American participants within the Mesulam Center ADRC are unknown.MethodsSeven focus groups, stratified by both cognitive and decision status were conducted as part of this analysis. Focus groups ranged in attendance from 2‐8 participants, plus 2‐4 study personnel. 34 research participants and/or study partners participated in this project. Focus groups were co‐facilitated by Northwestern social workers, a Northwestern neuroscience PhD student, and a social work intern at the regional senior center. All focus group discussions were audio recorded, subsequently de‐identified, transcribed and coded for emerging themes.ResultQualitative analysis revealed several themes: personal connection to memory loss or dementia; altruism; personal decision making, spirituality/religion; historical and current trauma related to healthcare and research; trust; representation of African Americans in clinical and research settings, and understanding the purpose and process of brain donation. Participant identified next steps include community education initiatives centered around brain donation, building trust between the community and research institutions, and increased community engagement by Northwestern in diverse communities.ConclusionOverall, our findings are consistent with previous findings. Themes highlight the issue of trust, importance of increased representation of African Americans among staff in aiding participation, lack of understand of the purpose and value of brain donation, and the need for purposeful acknowledgement of past traumas by the medical research community. Next steps include both community level and institutional interventions to aid in increased participation in brain donation among African American research participants.

Engaging African Americans in Research: The Recruiter's Perspective.

To examine barriers recruiters encounter when enrolling African American study participants, identify motivating factors to increase research participation, and provide recommendations to facilitate successful minority recruitment. Recruiters are often the first point of contact between the research study and potential African American participants. While challenges in enrolling African Americans into clinical and epidemiologic research has been reported in numerous studies the non-physician recruiter's role as a determinant of overall participation rates has received minimal attention. We conducted four 90-minute teleconference focus groups with 18 recruiters experienced in enrolling African Americans for clinical and epidemiologic studies at five academic/medical institutions. Participants represented diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and were asked to reflecton barriers preventing African Americans from participating in research studies,factors that motivated participation, and recommendations to increase participation of African Americans in research. Multi-coder and thematic data analysis was implemented using the Braun and Clarke method. Prominent concerns in recruitment of African Americans in research include fear and mistrust and inflexible research protocols. The participants suggest that improved recruitment could be achieved through cross-cultural and skillset building training opportunities for recruiters, greater community engagement among researchers, and better engagement with clinic staff and research teams.

Enhancing the Participation of African Americans in Health-Related Genetic Research: Findings of a Collaborative Academic and Community-Based Research Study

The involvement of African Americans in research has long been expressed as a concern by the scientific community. While efforts have been undertaken to identify factors inhibiting the participation of African Americans in health-related research, few efforts have been undertaken to have highlight factors associated with their engagement of health-related research. An exploratory study of factors presumed to be associated with participation in health-related research was conducted among a nonprobability sample of African Americans (n = 212) from a large urban community in the Midwest. The study was guided by a framework that hypothesized the influence of knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about genetics and the involvement of providers in decision-making on willingness to participate in health-related genetic research. The results revealed that knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about genetics and the involvement of providers were associated with willingness to engage in health-related genetic research (P < .05). The most interesting, however, was that 88.7% of the participants who had not previously been involved in a health-related study who expressed a willingness to participate reported that they “had never been asked.” Study findings suggest the need for research that further examines factors associated with the involvement of African Americans in health-related genetic research.

Pathways to Care for African Americans With Early Psychosis

Pathways to Care for African Americans With Early Psychosis

Recruitment of older African Americans for survey research: a process evaluation of the community and church-based strategy in The Durham Elders Project.

The disproportionately high burden of morbidity and mortality among older African Americans is due, in part, to a lack of understanding of the factors contributing to these outcomes. In order to more fully understand the factors that contribute to African American morbidity and mortality, researchers must identify strategies for increasing the inclusion of older African Americans in research on social and health phenomena. This article is a process evaluation describing the successes and challenges associated with recruitment of older African Americans into research. It considers an effort to nurture collaboration between university and community institutions to both facilitate research endeavors and offer meaningful and culturally-appropriate contributions to the community. The primary challenges discovered in this observational process evaluation of a church-based recruitment strategy include the effective coordination of a community research advisory board, ensuring participant autonomy, and reducing concerns of exploitation among potential participants. A strategy of coordinating a community research advisory board to incorporate the views of community members and to drive a church-based recruitment procedure provides a starting point for tapping into an immensely important segment of society historically ignored by the research community.

Distrust, race, and research.

Investigators have voiced concerns that distrust of research and the medical community impedes successful recruitment of African Americans into clinical research. To examine possible differences in distrust by race and to determine to what extent other sociodemographic factors explain any racial differences in distrust. We analyzed data from 527 African American and 382 white respondents of a national telephone survey on participation in clinical research. Our main outcome measure was a 7-item index of distrust. African American respondents were more likely than white respondents not to trust that their physicians would fully explain research participation (41.7% vs 23.4%, P<.01) and to state that they believed their physicians exposed them to unnecessary risks (45.5% vs 34.8%, P<.01). African American respondents had a significantly higher mean distrust index score than white respondents (3.1 vs 1.8, P<.01). After controlling for other sociodemographic variables in a logistic regression model, race remained strongly associated with a higher distrust score (prevalence odds ratio, 4.7; 95% confidence interval, 2.9-7.7). Even after controlling for markers of social class, African Americans were less trusting than white Americans. Racial differences in distrust have important implications for investigators as they engage African Americans in research.

Challenges in cognitive assessment of African Americans in research on Alzheimer disease.

Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Keith E. Whitfield, Department of Biobehavioral Health, 315 E. HHD, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16803, U.S.A.

Attitudes of African Americans Toward Participation in Medical Research

The underrepresentation of African Americans in medical research is problematic for several reasons, including disparities in health outcomes, differences in metabolism of pharmacological agents, and accurate assessment of health needs and costs. This paper investigates factors contributing to African Americans' lower likelihood of consenting to participation in medical research. In Study 1, three focus groups were conducted to assess concerns about research participation and to generate further hypotheses for questionnaire development. Study 2 presented a hypothetical clinical trial and collected questionnaire data on attitudes about participation. Both studies revealed a greater likelihood to mistrust the medical establishment among African American students. However, suspicion did not contribute to a decreased likelihood of participation. Several recommendations are offered regarding the recruitment of African Americans in research.