Health care access and disparities: A multidimensional and interdisciplinary approach to foster awareness in cancer clinical trials.
Year: 2025
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: 140 Background: Persistent disparities in cancer clinical trial access among community-based programs—particularly those serving underserved populations—limit equitable research participation. Traditional trial infrastructures often exclude patients facing social and economic barriers such as limited transportation, childcare responsibilities, and inflexible work conditions. Objective: To describe Clinical Research Alliance’s (CRA) community-centered model to increase clinical trial awareness, participation, and clinician engagement in diverse, underserved regions. Methods: CRA developed a bimodal approach in collaboration with community-based organizations (CBOs), local businesses, and major pharmaceutical sponsors to expand access and awareness of cancer clinical trials. The model emphasizes: Community Engagement: Education and outreach through trusted local networks, including culturally tailored flyers, brochures, physician-patient engagement, and on-site clinical research coordinators, to improve community-level awareness and visibility of trial opportunities. Clinician Support: Identification and support of resource-limited oncology providers, offering regulatory/operational assistance and protected time incentives to enable research participation. Patient-Centered Support: To address logistical and psychosocial barriers, CRA collaborates with sponsors to provide travel reimbursements, meal vouchers, airfare, caregiver and patient stipends, and other support services depending on sponsor capacity. This holistic approach aims to reduce patient burden and improve retention. Results: CRA has partnered with over 10 community-based organizations across Brooklyn, Queens, and Upstate New York—areas known for their demographic and socioeconomic diversity. Outreach included both direct community interaction and clinic-based strategies. CRA currently supports 23 community-based oncologists with many actively enrolling patients. Over the past 3–4 years, hundreds of patients have been screened, with over 100 enrollments into active cancer trials. This progress was achieved through partnerships with 20–30 major pharmaceutical sponsors, resulting in the availability of more than 50 trials across non-academic, community-based sites. While no major demographic shifts in trial participation have yet been observed, this initiative has significantly expanded access to historically underrepresented populations. Conclusions: CRA’s multidimensional model presents a scalable and data-driven framework for reducing barriers to clinical trial access. By aligning community engagement with sponsor-supported patient and clinician incentives, this approach holds promise for advancing equity and inclusion in cancer clinical research.
Source: JCO Oncology Practice
Authors: Rabia Khan, James Thomas D'Olimpio
Language: English
Topic: Ethics in Clinical Research
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4414893532
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