A foundation is offering scholarships and internships to help address a long-standing need; increasing the number of people of color who participate in clinical trials.
The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation wants medical students to help recruit people from under-represented or disadvantaged communities to join the trials.
Wayne State University professor of oncology Hayley Thompson directs outreach and engagement for the Karmanos Cancer Institute.
She says patients can sometimes respond more positively to a doctor who shares their same background.
“When a black physician might approach a black patient...they might be more open and more willing to participate in that work. Because they are being asked by someone who is more similar to them in terms of group membership...and culture and experiences. Those providers may be communicating more effectively with those patients as well.”
The Food and Drug Administration says the results of clinical trials are often skewed because typically about 80 percent of the participants are white.
