In a National Survey of 5,301 U.S. Women, Only 11% Had Ever Been Invited Into a Clinical Trial and 7% Had Enrolled, While 88% Backed Including Women and Sex-Specific Reporting
A paper published in Scientific Reports on November 7 by Fida, Rajasekera, Roy and colleagues, titled "Understanding barriers to clinical trial participation among U.S. women: a national survey study," reports a national cross-sectional online survey of 5,301 U.S. women aged 18-70, assessing willingness to participate (WTP), experiences with clinical trials, and awareness of sex-based differences in relation to research engagement. The authors note that women, particularly those from racially and ethnically minoritized groups, remain underrepresented in clinical research, while their own perspectives on participation are not well characterized.
Among the 4,987 respondents reporting race, 77% White, 14% Black, 7% Asian and 2% Other, most expressed at least tentative interest: 23% said "definitely" and 60% "maybe." Yet only 11% had ever been invited to take part in a clinical trial and only 7% had enrolled. In adjusted models, willingness to participate was lower among Black women than among White women (β = -0.4; P = 0.0003), while higher educational attainment and multimorbidity predicted greater willingness. In addition, 88% of respondents endorsed women's inclusion and sex-specific reporting in clinical research.
The authors conclude that limited invitation, together with structural and informational barriers, may contribute to women's low participation, and they support evaluating trust-building, burden-reducing and culturally responsive strategies centered on women's needs, including emphasizing the sex-specific relevance of research as an engagement strategy to be tested. The study is cross-sectional and rests on self-reported willingness and experience; it does not establish causation. The paper is formally published and peer-reviewed.
(Source: Scientific)
Source: Scientific
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：临床试验志愿者接受检查（资料图）。CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A clinical trial volunteer being examined (file photo). CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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