Barriers to clinical trial participation in patients at UCLH
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Research into barriers to clinical trial participation (including the recruitment process) in patients at UCLH
IRAS ID
318718
Contact name
Rosamund Yu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCLH/UCL
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2022/08/15, UCL Data Protection Office
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Clinical research is essential for investigating the safety and efficacy of innovative treatments; however, there is significant disparity in patients being able to participate in this research across the UK. This challenge is exemplified in ethnic minorities and nuanced by disease area. For example, the Alzheimer’s Society predicts that there will be 50,000 UK ethnic minority patients with dementia by 2026, but despite the rising numbers, these communities still face multiple barriers in accessing trials and are under-represented as participants in Alzheimer's research. Not only are patients potentially missing out on valid treatment options, the under-enrolment of patients from minority ethnic groups can reduce the generalisability of any research findings and therefore more needs to be done to improve our understanding of why there is under-enrolment and how it can be addressed (Alzheimer's Society, 2022).
Barriers to participation among minority ethnic patient populations in research can include cultural barriers, as well as general distrust in research and the healthcare system. There is also the potential for healthcare professionals to have a subconscious bias when selecting patients to be approached about clinical trials. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) highlights the importance of understanding these obstacles and tailoring solutions (NIHR, 2020). UCLH and collaborator Roche is looking to address these barriers to clinical trial participation and advancing inclusive research globally.The study will take a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structure interviews with staff and patients across four disease areas at UCLH clinics.
The output of this research will be the identification of the barriers during the recruitment process to recruiting ethnic minority participants and recommendations as to measures to address these barriers. This will pave the way for a further study to trial the recommended measures.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
23/WA/0116
Date of REC Opinion
28 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion