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Beliefs and Preferences for Medical Research Among African-Americans

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Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and Objectives

Numerous factors contribute to underrepresentation of African-Americans in medical research, including beliefs, historical events, structural, and health access obstacles. This study examined beliefs about medical research and the types of study methods preferred among potential African-American research participants.

Methods

A sample of 304 African-American participants from the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, completed a survey evaluating beliefs about medical research and preferred research study methods. Multiple Regression analyses were performed to examine how age, gender, and education may influence these beliefs and preferences for research study methods.

Results

The beliefs and preferences surveyed did not differ by age, gender, or educational attainment. There was an overwhelmingly favorable belief (90 %) that medical research was necessary and assists in finding a cure for a disease. Most respondents preferred participating in research related to issues with which they were familiar (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) or working with researchers of a similar ethnic background to themselves. Interestingly, though nonsignificant, those with higher levels of educational trended toward the belief that participation in research was risky.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that certain beliefs about medical research participation and preferred study methodologies reported by African-Americans did not differ by age, gender, or level of education. This information about African-American’s beliefs and preferences regarding medical research should lead to an awareness of potential gains in African-American participation through the development of culturally sensitive medical research studies and methodologies.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the following grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), U24AA11898, AA014643, Charles and Mary Latham Trust Fund and General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) grant MO1 RR10284

We would like to acknowledge the support of Ms Jennifer Ruchman and Dr. Verle Headings for their recommendations on the design of the study.

Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study. The study protocol was approved by the Howard University Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Conflict of Interest

Gloria E. Cain, Nnenna Kalu, John Kwagyan, Vanessa J. Marshall, Altovise T. Ewing, Walter P. Bland, Victor Hesselbrock, Denise M. Scott, and Robert E. Taylor declare no financial conflicts of interest related to this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, Alcohol Research Center, Howard University, 520 W St. N.W. Suite 3408, Washington, DC, 20059, USA

    Gloria E. Cain, Nnenna Kalu, John Kwagyan, Vanessa J. Marshall, Walter P. Bland, Robert E. Taylor & Denise M. Scott

  2. Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Altovise T. Ewing

  3. College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA

    Victor Hesselbrock

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  1. Gloria E. Cain
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  2. Nnenna Kalu
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  3. John Kwagyan
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  5. Altovise T. Ewing
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  7. Victor Hesselbrock
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  8. Robert E. Taylor
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  9. Denise M. Scott
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gloria E. Cain.

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Cain, G.E., Kalu, N., Kwagyan, J. et al. Beliefs and Preferences for Medical Research Among African-Americans. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 3, 74–82 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0117-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0117-8

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