A Matter Of Trust: Minorities Are Suspicious Of Clinical Trials

Trying to entice Americans to participate in clinical trials remains a contentious topic. Drugmakers and clinical research continue to look overseas where costs are lower and there are fewer difficulties finding people whose participation would not be complicated by other medicines they already take. But convincing Americans to enroll in studies can also be challenging. A key issue is a lack of trust, which a new survey finds runs rather high among many Americans, regardless of race. To wit, 51 percent of Asians, 52 percent of Hispanics, 54 percent of whites and 61 percent of African-Americans cite this as a major reason for declining to participate. And a substantial portion believe that people are enrolled in trials without being told – 40 percent of African-Americans, 36 percent of Hispanics, 35 percent of Asians and 27 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Whether such views reflect an awareness of the infamous Tuskegee syphillis experiment, for instance, is unclear. In that 40-year study, which ended in 1972, the US Public Health Service studied untreated syphilis among poor African-American men in Alabama, who thought they were receiving free government health care but were never told they had the disease.   In any event, participation in clinical trials remains low among all groups. When asked if they or someone in their family has ever participated in a clinical trial, only 17 percent of Hispanics, 15 percent of African-Americans, 15 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 11...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs