Black patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease are three times less likely to receive device-aided therapy than White patients, according to recent research. This disparity is part of a broader pattern of racial inequalities in healthcare outcomes and clinical trial representation.
The study also found that Black women face a 41% higher likelihood of breast cancer mortality compared to White women, with the lowest 5-year survival rate among all races and ethnicities.
These findings highlight a critical issue in medical research and treatment. Despite the clear impact of these disparities, efforts to translate this knowledge into actionable solutions and representative development-stage research have been inadequate.
Experts argue that understanding these disparities requires examining social determinants of health (SDOH) beyond medical care. The economic implications are significant, with projections suggesting hundreds of billions of dollars will be lost over the next 25 years due to health disparities in underrepresented populations.
The FDA has issued guidance encouraging better diversity in clinical research, but implementation remains a challenge. At a recent FDA public workshop, patients and advocates called for improvements in the healthcare ecosystem to enable greater participation of underrepresented groups in clinical studies.
Experts suggest leveraging real-world data to address these challenges, emphasizing the need for robust datasets that can effectively represent diverse populations. They argue that recognizing the economic benefits of diversity initiatives is crucial for aligning financial resources with the goal of effecting positive change in healthcare.
See “Putting Diversity at the Center of Clinical Trials With Real-World Data” (January 12, 2024)
