Focus on You: Cancer clinical trials perspectives

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials test new ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, or treat diseases. Researchers have found that minority patients are willing to participate in clinical trials, yet these patients have barriers which hinder their access to trials. METHODS: To explore African American women's participation in breast cancer clinical trials, eight focus groups were conducted with breast cancer patients, family members/care givers, religious leaders, and healthcare providers to gather information on the perspectives and opinions on the topic. The focus group conversations were transcribed, and transcripts were imported into QSR International's NVivo 10 software. The transcripts were organized into folders based on four categories. The content analysis performed was based on recordings and notes. RESULTS: The following themes were generated as a result of conducting these focus groups and gathering information on the perspectives and opinions about participating in clinical trials, based on the groups who participated: Promoting participation in research; Personal experience with cancer; Support and support services; Awareness, knowledge, and experience with clinical trials; Providers' roles in clinical trials. CONCLUSION: The data collected in this study present several actionable themes that, if addressed by individual researchers and the medical community at large, could increase participation in clinical trials by African American patients. They also provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing African American patients' decisions around participating in clinical trials.