Funded by Hooters of America, LLC
Significant progress in the field of breast oncology has been made with information gathered from clinical trials. Minority patients account for less than 10% of clinical trial participants. African American and Hispanic American patients only comprised 10% and 5%, respectively, of all participants in the ACOSOG Z0011 trial for early breast cancer. Barriers to participation of minority patients include; the lack of awareness of clinical trials, an unwillingness to participate, and the need for a more labor intensive approach to enrollment. Recruitment strategies to increase minority patient enrollment include involving families and patient navigators for outreach and education, utilizing internet resources, and making physicians more aware about the up to date clinical trials available at their institution. The AVON Comprehensive Breast Center at Grady Memorial Hospital is a safety net hospital that primarily serves an urban, inner city population, where 85% of patients are African American. The goal of this study is to (1) identify the potential motivators and barriers of African American patients towards clinical trial participation at an urban hospital and to (2) identify the optimal communication strategy specific to this population, that can be employed to help increase minority clinical trial enrollment.
