Distrust, Race, and Research
Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc; Stephen B. Thomas, PhD; Diane Marie M.
St. George, PhD
Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:2458-2463

An article in Monday's Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2002) reports on the great difficulty clinical trial sponsors are having in filling their trail slots.

According to the article, "In 2001, 86% of all clinical trials didn't meet enrollment goals, causing delays of up to a year, up from 80% in 1999." The article is based on a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Distrust appears to play a large role in the hesitance of some to participate in clinical trials. The article reports, "Almost four out of five African Americans and more than half of whites believe that people could be used as 'guinea pigs' for research without their consent. Many respondents -- 63% of African Americans and 38% of whites -- believed their doctors often prescribe medication as a way of experimenting on people without their knowledge or consent, and almost half of African Americans and more than a third of whites felt their doctors sometimes exposed them to unnecessary risks when deciding their treatments."

The full text of the article is available at <http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-trials2dec02,0,1931700.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dhealth>. Free registration may be required to review the story.

Tony Mazzaschi
AAMC

Research-AAMC

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