Accounting for the High Enrollment of African Americans on Winship Cancer Institute's Myeloma Clinical Trials.

BackgroundThirty-four percent of Multiple Myeloma (MM) clinical trial participants at Winship Cancer Institute (Winship) are African American (AA); however, AAs make up only 4.5 percent of myeloma clinical trial participants in the United States. Given our high enrollment, we aimed to measure AAs' trust in providers and identify if clinical trial enrollment barriers exist.MethodologyA member of the ethics research team surveyed AA patients who had consented to a MM clinical trial at Winship. Three validated surveys were used: Trust in Medical Research (TMR); Human Connection (THC) which measures how much patients feel they are heard and valued by their physicians; and the Duke Intrinsic Religiosity Scale (DUREL) which measures strength of religious engagement and belief. The survey also included questions about the impact of side effects, distance to the trial center and trial related costs on the decision to participate in clinical trial.ResultsNinety-two percent (61/67) of patients approached consented. The mean TMR score and the mean THC score were significantly higher (P-value ConclusionIn our study population, high trust and human connection overcame other trial participation barriers: strong religious beliefs and concerns about side effects, costs, and travel distance. We present a roadmap to guide investigators to increase human connection, and hopefully trust.