Background
The reasons for minority underrepresentation in HIV/AIDS clinical trials remain unclear. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge, experience and factors that influence minority participation in HIV/AIDS studies in the US.
Methods
An anonymous, bilingual, self-administered survey on study participation was given to HIV-infected adults attending AIDS Clinical Trials Group-affiliated clinics in the US and Puerto Rico. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate differences by race/first language/level of education. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for factors associated with being talked to about participation in a study.
Results
We analyzed 2,175 complete surveys (221 in Spanish). Among respondents, 31% were White, 40% black/African American (AA) and 21% Hispanic. The overall rate of previous participation in any HIV/AIDS study was 48%. Hispanics were less likely to know about studies compared to whites and AAs (67% vs. 74% and 76%; p<0.001). Compared to whites, AAs and Hispanics were less likely to have been talked to about participating in a study (76% vs. 67% and 67%; p<0.001). The OR for being talked to about participating in a study was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.52â0.81) for AAs and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.49â0.85) for Hispanics, compared to whites. AAs and Hispanics were more likely to state that studies were not friendly to their race (17% and 10% vs. 4%; p<0.001).
Conclusions
Minorities continue to face barriers for HIV/AIDS trial participation, even when clinical research is available. Enrollment strategies should better target minorities to improve recruitment in HIV/AIDS research.