Abstract IA28: Advocate Perspective: Diversity in research: A missing link to eliminate health disparities

The literature shows that whites, mostly males, make up the majority (more than 80%) of the participants in cancer treatment and prevention studies. This is of great concern as the finding of these studies are generalized among different population groups. The federal government began taking action to address diversity in research since 1993 with the National Institute of Health Revitalization Act directed to increase participation of women and minorities in clinical research. Other government initiatives and programs have followed, such as the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act, National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Excellence Center to Eliminate Ethnic and Racial Disparities, among others. Despite the government's efforts to increase diversity in research for more than 25 years, women and racial/ethnic minorities continue to be under-represented. Furthermore, as we keep moving into the era of precision medicine, fast-accumulating evidence suggests that the gap will grow even bigger. Understanding molecular biology in health disparities of cancer across populations and studying the interaction of biologic factors and other factors that contribute to the differences in cancer burden should become even more a research priority. To increase the participation of women and minorities in research, strategies such as having recruitment as a separate criterion in research proposal evaluations could result in a more thorough approach. This could lead to the consideration of cultural as well as other important aspects of the population group of interest. Also, specific strategies to overcome patients' barriers to enrollment in research should be implemented. In order to address under-representation in research, one has to consider tackling diversity from many angles. Diversity goes beyond recruiting diverse populations. Attention should also be given to diversity in researchers, research teams, study sections, research staff, physicians recruiting for clinical trials, and patient advocates. Moreover, journals and their editors play a key role in reducing the gap.

Citation Format: Barbara Segarra-Vazquez. Advocate Perspective: Diversity in research: A missing link to eliminate health disparities [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 IA28.