Whose health matters? The diversity deficit in clinical trials

Racialized people are disproportionately affected by diabetes, but are underrepresented in clinical studies. (Shutterstock) by Sonia Anand, McMaster University Most people are aware that the process of bringing new medical products to market is rigorous, complex and tightly regulated. Diagnostic tests, therapies and treatments all go through lengthy, expensive trials to make sure they’re safe and effective before being approved for public use. The gold standard for clinical trials — randomized controlled studies — often require thousands of research subjects. Society generally agrees such effort is necessary. Our medical system is built on evidence and trust, and reliable research is essential to both. As a professor of medicine and a researcher with an interest in ethnic variation and health, I have reflected on who is included and who is left out of clinical trials. Unfortunately, clinical trials all too often fail to reflect the communities that stand to be most affected by the outcomes of that research. Under-representation in clinical trials The underrepresented of racialized, or non-white, people in clinical trials is a serious and largely unrecognized problem that needs more scrutiny as part of the growing movement to foster health equity. Like other broad efforts to build a fairer,...