A new drug, vaccine, medical device, or other medical therapy must be carefully examined in clinical trials before becoming accessible for doctors to prescribe to treat a disease or its symptoms or help prevent a health concern. Regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration demand data from clinical studies on a treatment's safety and efficacy as a condition of licensure. These clinical data give prescribers information into how patients are expected to respond to drugs and, as a result, how the medicines should be administered.
Physical differences might cause them to react differently to the same drug. Age, genetics, gender, weight, ethnicity, and even geographic location may influence how a treatment works and how safe it is. For example, for some asthma, blood pressure, and heart diseases, Black folks may require a different dosage — or maybe a different prescription entirely — than white, Asian, or Hispanic individuals with the same diagnosis. As a result, improved racial diversity in clinical trials is crucial to public health and well-being.
What is the rationale for this?
Recruiting research volunteers is notoriously challenging across all groups, and many challenges and queries, such as scheduling, travel, and remuneration, as well as inquiries regarding possible hazards and benefits, are ubiquitous.
On top of that, people who are underrepresented in health care are likely to be underrepresented in clinical research. Economic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and even physical obstacles may exist (such as a lack of access to a nearby healthcare center). Patients are often recruited from big academic medical facilities, where particular patient populations are overrepresented compared to others.
Physician recommendations are also important for lack of diversity in clinical trials, however, some doctors are hesitant to refer their patients if it implies they will be treated by someone else.
