Significant barriers to diversity in respiratory medicine trials and diagnostic tools, which experts say contributes to health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, were highlighted in a recent panel discussion at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2023 Conference.
The session, titled “Diversity in Pulmonary Function Testing and Clinical Trials,” featured Drs. Nirav Shah from Northwestern University and Neeta Thakur from the University of California, San Francisco. They noted that despite making up a large proportion of patients with respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD, racial and ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented in clinical trials for these conditions.
Dr. Shah pointed out that most pulmonary function tests and lung disease risk prediction models were developed using data from predominantly White populations, leading to misdiagnosis and undertreatment in minority patients. Dr. Thakur added that strict inclusion criteria, lack of diverse recruitment sites, and mistrust of the medical system among minority communities pose major hurdles to diversifying trial participation.
The panelists called for concerted efforts to build trust, engage community partners, provide logistical support, and revise eligibility criteria to improve minority representation in respiratory research. Doing so, they argued, is critical to developing diagnostic tools and therapies that work for all patients and ultimately reducing stark racial disparities in respiratory health outcomes.
See “Experts Explore Barriers to Diversity in Respiratory Medicine Trials and Diagnostic Tools” (May 22, 2024)
