The Franklin Institute and ChristianaCare would like to know your thoughts, concerns, and questions about medical research and clinical trials. Your anonymous responses to this survey will help us develop better education and healthcare programs together with our community. After completing the survey, you may choose to enter a lottery to win a thank-you gift box including 2 free tickets to The Franklin Institute.
Here in Delaware, researchers and scientists want to take responsibility and work for change, so that medical research can involve and benefit everyone. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
For more information about this survey, contact Dr. Jayatri Das, Chief Bioscientist at The Franklin Institute, at jdas@fi.edu.
What’s a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are research studies that determine if a new drug or medical treatment is safe and effective. Researchers and doctors give some patients an experimental treatment while others get standard care or a mock treatment. Then they compare the results to see if the new treatment improves people’s health.
Why does diversity matter?
Racial disparity in medical research has negative impacts on the health of communities of color. A critical issue is that when clinical trials don’t recruit diverse patient groups, we don’t know whether the new treatment will work for all people. For example, a common inhaler prescribed for children with asthma was approved for use in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until three years ago that we learned it does not work as well for children of Black and Puerto Rican ancestry.
The decision to participate in a clinical trial can be hard. Every participant helps the greater good, but there are personal health risks and logistical issues to consider. More importantly, with historical and current practices of racial bias and injustice, the medical system has not always been a trustworthy partner to communities of color.