PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is home to more than 4,000 active clinical trials. Clinical trials help lead to cutting-edge treatments for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, but not all people respond to treatment in the same way.
To see the best results, people of all backgrounds need to be included. African Americans are missing out, but one organization is working to change that.
Black Philadelphians make up 40% of the city’s population, and many suffer from ailments that are studied in clinical trials. Kim Baich, chief diversity and health equity officer at the PAN Foundation, which is dedicated to health equity, said there has been a lack of diversity in trials.
“Particularly if we think about the African American community, Blacks have largely been left out,” she said. “In fact, only 8% have been participating in clinical trials.”
Studies show urban Black communities are more likely to participate in clinical trials than rural ones — but only 1 in 5 Black patients are invited to join. Baich said there are a few reasons for this disparity.
For decades, the health care system failed Black communities, which breeds mistrust. Baich said there are also barriers to care and a lack of knowledge about the trials.
“It does, in certain cases, help because you’re getting access to something that you would not have ordinarily gotten,” she explained. “So that is a benefit, and you’re under the watchful eye of a team of people who are connecting with you.”
The PAN Foundation launched an educational initiative, Opening Doors to Clinical Trials, designed to make participation easier, help patients find trials faster, and rebuild trust. Baich said although medical mistrust exists in the Black community, interest is still there.
“Many are willing to participate,” she noted. “They just have not been invited. They want more information about clinical trials, but they have largely been excluded. While they’re trusting of their own medical provider, there’s a large percentage of people who have not had those conversations with their health care provider.”
The initiative aims to tackle this head-on so that treatment is measured across all demographics for better outcomes.