A new qualitative study highlights the crucial role healthcare providers play in promoting diversity and inclusivity in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) clinical trials. The findings, presented at The Liver Meeting 2024 by Dr. Chari Cohen, President of the Hepatitis B Foundation, reveal key insights into improving minority representation in HBV research.
Key Provider Roles in Diverse Patient Recruitment
The research, which incorporated perspectives from six focus groups and five in-depth interviews, identified three essential roles for healthcare providers in clinical trial recruitment:
- Bridging knowledge gaps about clinical trials
- Building strong relationships with ethnic minority patients
- Establishing trust through transparent communication and clear information sharing
"You want to make sure clinical trials reflect the populations that are most impacted by chronic hepatitis B," explains Dr. Cohen. "What often happens is you see a lack of diversity among clinical trials... what winds up happening is you have drugs that may not reflect the populations that most need it."
Study Methodology and Community Engagement
The research team conducted extensive community outreach, gathering insights from diverse populations including:
- Vietnamese communities
- West African communities
- Somalian communities
- Korean communities
- Chinese communities
- Caucasian communities
Participants shared their perspectives on clinical trial perceptions, participation barriers, and factors influencing their willingness to participate in research studies.
Path Forward for Inclusive Clinical Research
Dr. Cohen emphasizes the opportunity for improvement in clinical trial diversity: "I think there's a lot of work to be done, but I also think that means there's a lot of opportunity so we can work together."
The study suggests a collaborative approach between healthcare providers and patient communities is essential. "What we need to do is bring the patient community and the provider community together to talk and see what they can learn from each other and how they can improve overall communication moving forward," Dr. Cohen notes.
This research marks an important step toward ensuring future HBV clinical trials better represent the diverse populations affected by the disease, potentially leading to more effective and targeted treatments for all patient groups.
