Encouraging participation of minorities in research studies.

Recruitment of participants for research studies can be challenging. Recruitment of minorities is especially challenging, leading to underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials, even for conditions that disproportionately affect minorities.1 This is worrisome, since lack of ethnic and racial diversity in study participants hinders the ability to generalize fi ndings and thus the results may not truly identify the best treatments available. Furthermore, studies without adequate minority representation may miss relevant fi ndings that are unique to that group due to cultural, environmental, or physiologic factors. In light of this, agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have made statements emphasizing the scientifi c and ethical obligation to include minority participants in research studies.2,3 Consequently, investigators need to ensure they are including a representative sample of participants in their studies. Several strategies have been suggested that may help improve minority recruitment. Some of the strategies investigators should consider include: