The present study's findings highlight the need expressed by breast cancer survivors for comprehensive guidance from healthcare providers in developing plans of care that improve patients' quality of life and target recurrence risk. Guidelines are available for dissemination and use in medical settings; however, the guidelines have not been incorporated into standard medical practice for patients with cancer. Information about long-term follow-up care after primary treatment should target the specific needs of survivors from diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds to promote understanding of surveillance to detect recurrence, long-term effects of cancer treatments, and general health maintenance.

The well-documented underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in research demands action. The field of health disparities research, however, lacks scientific consensus about how best to respectfully recruit underrepresented minority populations in research. We explore the investigators’ perspective regarding how their own racial and ethnic background influenced their ability to recruit minorities, including 1) the influence of racial concordance (“race-matching”) in research recruitment, 2) attributes and shared values important in the development of trust with minority communities, and 3) the role self-reflection plays in the development of meaningful research relationships. In 2010, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured, telephone interviews with investigators (N=31) experienced with minority populations. Through the analysis of this coherent narrative, we uncovered both the symbolic and surface level assumptions regarding minority recruitment to expose a deep structure understanding of race, ethnicity, and social context that are critical for bridging the true social difference between researchers and participants.

Study findings identified important links between financial resources and experiencing a vision problem and the adoption of preventive eye care in an urban African-American population.

Lack of knowledge about CRC and CRC screening exists in the study population. Promoting screening across generations, developing and disseminating culturally appropriate educational materials within the community, and encouraging older individuals to screen to take care of their family may be appropriate interventions.

Introduction: The lack of diversity in health research participation has serious consequences for science as well as ethics. While there is growing interest in solving the problem, much of the work to date focuses on attitudes of distrust among members of underrepresented communities. However, there is also a pressing need to understand existing barriers within the cultural and structural context of researchers and research staff. Methods: This study adopted a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to allow for a focused examination of barriers to inclusive research recruitment among researchers and staff. Barriers first identified from an initial quantitative investigation (web-based survey; n = 279) were further explored through qualitative methods (key informant interviews; n = 26). Participants were investigators and research team members in both phases of the study. Results: The survey revealed a paradoxical disconnect between participants’ reported belief in the abstract value of diversity in research participation (87.1% important/extremely important) and belief in it as an important goal in their own specific research (38.3% important/extremely important). Interviews reveal that researchers and staff perceive many barriers to the recruitment of members of underrepresented groups and hold a general view of diversity in research as an impractical, even unattainable, goal. Conclusions: It is crucial that principal investigators not only understand the consequences of the continued exclusion of marginalized groups from research but also implement strategies to reverse this trend and communicate with research staff on the issue. While individual bias does play a role (ex: a priori assumptions about the willingness or ability of members of underrepresented groups to participate), these behaviors are part of a larger context of systemic racism.