After three years of successful clinical trials, Abbott is sharing its strategies for diversifying clinical trials in healthcare. In the newly released publication “Advancing Diversity in Clinical Trials,” the organization lays out a blueprint for reaching populations that are overwhelmingly affected by numerous life-threatening conditions but underrepresented in research.
According to Dr. Jennifer Jones-McMeans, the co-chair of the diversity and research office and divisional vice president of Global Clinical Affairs for
Abbott’s vascular business, the call to action came in 2020. She says, “We really pushed on with an endeavor to ensure that those who were highly burdened by the diseases that we actually treat were well represented.”
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Chronic diseases, such as heart disease and peripheral artery disease are prevalent in the Black community, but historically, Black people haven’t readily taken advantage of opportunities to advance research that could benefit them. Various factors impact that participation, including historic racism, mistrust, and lack of access.
Jones-McMeans explains that trials have come a long way in safety and that working with a regulating body like the Food and Drug Administration ensures that safety is just as important as making sure every group has access, regardless of age, race, or gender.
As of 2023, Abbott’s trial participation more closely represented the population. For instance, females made up 54 percent of participation in the US, and Hispanic and non-white people made up 44 percent.
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That’s why Abbott’s new website, announced on November 19th, will provide visitors with a different communication pathway for patients and their families. “In our own outreach, we’ve done radio conversations, ads—all sorts of different methods to educate patients and capture the questions that they may have around clinical trials,” recalls Jones-McMeans. That outreach includes showing positive outcomes from people who’ve taken advantage of trials.
The template draws on insights from nearly 100 experts in the Abbott community. They include doctors, researchers, advocacy groups, clinical trialists, and other experts. The paper identifies four key barriers to clinical trial access: lack of trust, lack of transparency, lack of access, and lack of a common language. From there, visitors can explore ways to overcome these challenges.
A few strategies include:
- Inclusive hiring practices that represent the communities they want to reach
- Education campaigns that increase understanding of the conditions AND the trials
- Ability to log trial data remotely (from home, cell phones, etc.
- Access to translation services and materials in more than just English
According to Danielle Bajakian, M.D., Columbia University Irving Medical Center, “Abbott’s insightful publication provides recommended strategies based on years of research and analysis that will help ensure adequate representation in clinical trials across diverse demographics. Ultimately, I need to be able to look my patients in the eye and say this treatment has been studied on patients like them, and this is why we should be using this therapy.”
Jones-McMeans states that Abbott’s own mission to diversify has been successful, in part by these outlined measures, and with the addition of partnerships, they’re securing future participation through racial concordance. She says, “We’ve given $5 million over five years to historically Black colleges that have medical schools to ensure that we are putting investments into diversifying the next generation of doctors and researchers.” Abbott has also invested in the National Hispanic Nurses Association and National Black Association of Black Nurses.
Jones-McMeans says, “You can go to the leaf of the tree, or you can go to the root, and some of the roots are making sure that we have a diverse health workforce that is being developed.”
