Cost of translating documents could be a barrier to underrepresented groups in clinical trials

A UCLA study has found that cancer research centers conducting clinical trials could enroll more patients from underrepresented groups by relieving investigators of the costs of translating consent documents into languages other than English.  The study was published in the journal Nature.“We identified a readily addressable weakness in the clinical trial process, and we believe that overcoming this barrier, as we have begun to do, will ensure better representation of trial participants from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, enabling researchers to provide mo re comprehensive, ‘generalizable’ study results,” saidDr. Edward Garon, the study’s senior author and a medical oncologist at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.Consent documents  are required to be in a language understandable to the patient, and studies sponsored by pharmaceutical companies — which represent about 70% of all randomized cancer clinical trials — typically have budgets that cover the costs of translating documents into languages appropriate for particip ants.But in studies that are not sponsored by drug companies or device makers, investigators often operate on a fixed, per-patient budget provided by a grant, often from philanthropic organizations or governmental groups. As a result, unexpected costs like fees for translating consent documents, reduce  the funds available for other potentially important aspects of the research.The UCLA researchers theor...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news