With many global regulatory agencies advancing initiatives and guidance for achieving diversity in clinical research trials, there is increased awareness of the importance of inclusion in enrollment. This commitment to DE&I is essential, yet there is still much work to do to make participation truly inclusive to everyone, including ethnic and racially diverse individuals, people with physical impairments or learning difficulties, the LGBTQ+ community and neurodiverse patients.
In the June 2023 PharmaTimes issue, Rebecca Starkie, senior director of patient engagement, authors a piece on how improving diversity, equity and inclusion in clinical research requires a top-down commitment to inclusivity.
Read this article to learn:
- The importance of truly understanding patients’ needs, even before a study begins
- How a top-down DE&I commitment can be reflected in study protocols to include a wider range of participants, with attention to their unique needs and challenges
- Examples of how to consider the patient’s trial journey from recruitment to retention and monitoring in order to thoughtfully design your study
- Website accessibility considerations for trial recruitment
- Considerations to reduce sensory overload for neurodiverse patients in a clinical environment
- How you can involve grassroots organizations and patient advocacy groups in the early planning stages to foster better inclusion in clinical research
- Why you should leverage a clinical research framework built around what patients want, not just what regulators require
