Abstract A008: Barriers and facilitator to minorities' participation in cancer clinical trials: Perspectives from a safety-net hospital

Introduction: Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) are vital to clinical oncology research, in that they provide a foundation for the development and implementation of effective cancer therapies. However, there is a disparity in CCT participation given that only 2.7% of all CCT participants in the U.S. are African-American (AA). Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, the setting for this study, is a safety-net hospital with over 80% of its patients on Medicare, Medicaid, or uninsured. The objective of this two-phase pilot study is to utilize a multilevel, qualitative approach to assess the clinical and nonclinical facilitators and barriers to AA participation in CCTs (Phase I) and develop and pilot a multilevel intervention (Phase II).

Methods: Study participants were recruited from a cancer center at a safety-net hospital in Atlanta, GA. Twenty key informant interviews were conducted with key stakeholders at the safety-net hospital and 2 focus groups with AA cancer survivors. Interview guides were adapted from the NIH-funded EMPACT study. The interviews and focus groups were recorded on digital devices upon which the data was transcribed and subsequently analyzed using NVIVO 11 software.

Results: The interview transcripts were analyzed using a combination of hand coding and NVIVO 11 software. Content analysis was conducted using an immersion/crystallizing analysis plan. Common themes regarding Barriers and Facilitators within the context of Institution-level, Participant-level, System-level, and Trial-level will be presented.

Conclusion: These findings will assist in the development and testing of culturally appropriate resources and interventions to increase AA participation in CCTs.

Citation Format: Brian M. Rivers, Monica Harris, Dexter L. Cooper, Nedra Lisovicz, Raegan Durant, Natalie D. Hernandez, Desiree Rivers, Lawrence McKinney, Bria Carmichael, Sarah B. Rutland, Ainny Shamim. Barriers and facilitator to minorities' participation in cancer clinical trials: Perspectives from a safety-net hospital [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A008.