NIH-funded clinical trials often miss racial, gender diversity enrollment goals, report finds

STAT May 29, 2024
John Wilkerson

WASHINGTON — Clinical trials that the National Institutes of Health funds often enroll fewer Black patients and other underrepresented racial groups than they plan to, according to a study of 30 NIH-funded trials sampled by the HHS Office of Inspector General.

Policymakers want to get researchers to enroll a racially representative sample of patients in clinical trials that test whether products work and are safe. But researchers often fail to do so.

The OIG findings are in line with other studies from outside the government, according to William Fitzsimmons, a founder of the CARER Group, which is pushing to improve trial diversity. However, those studies looked at clinical trials funded by drug and medical device companies.

“One would assume that...

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