More than Just a Number: Perspectives from Black Male Participants on Community-Based Interventions and Clinical Trials to Address Cardiovascular Health Disparities

Faith E. Metlock, Sarah Addison, Alicia McKoy, Yesol Yang, Aarhea Hope, Joshua J. Joseph, Jing Zhang, Amaris Williams, Darrell M. Gray, John Gregory and Timiya S. Nolan ()
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Faith E. Metlock: Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (Formerly The Ohio State University College of Nursing), Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Sarah Addison: Washington University School of Medicine (Formerly The Ohio State University College of Medicine), St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Alicia McKoy: OhioHealth (Formerly The Ohio State University Center for Cancer Health Equity), Columbus, OH 43202, USA
Yesol Yang: The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Aarhea Hope: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Formerly The Ohio State University College of Nursing), Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Joshua J. Joseph: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Jing Zhang: The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Amaris Williams: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Darrell M. Gray: Gray Area Strategies LLC (Formerly The Ohio State University College of Medicine), Columbus, OH 43210, USA
John Gregory: The African American Male Wellness Agency, National Center for Urban Solutions, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
Timiya S. Nolan: University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine (Formerly The Ohio State University College of Nursing and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center), Birmingham, AL 35233, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Background: Black Americans remain significantly underrepresented and understudied in research. Community-based interventions have been increasingly recognized as an effective model for reckoning with clinical trial participation challenges amongst underrepresented groups, yet a paucity of studies implement this approach. The present study sought to gain insight into Black male participants’ perception of clinical trials before and after participating in a community-based team lifestyle intervention in the United States. Methods: Black Impact, a 24-week community-based lifestyle intervention, applied the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) framework to assess changes in the cardiovascular health of seventy-four Black male participants partaking in weekly team-based physical activities and LS7-themed education and having their social needs addressed. A subset of twenty participants completed an exit survey via one of three semi-structured focus groups aimed at understanding the feasibility of interventions, including their perceptions of participating in clinical trials. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a content analysis, which involved systematically identifying, coding, categorizing, and interpreting the primary patterns of the data. Results: The participants reported a positive change in their perceptions of clinical trials based on their experience with a community-based lifestyle intervention. Three prominent themes regarding their perceptions of clinical trials prior to the intervention were as follows: (1) History of medical abuse; (2) Lack of diversity amongst research teams and participants; and (3) A positive experience with racially concordant research teams. Three themes noted to influence changes in their perception of clinical trials based on their participation in Black Impact were as follows: (1) Building trust with the research team; (2) Increasing awareness about clinical trials; and (3) Motivating participation through community engagement efforts. Conclusions: Improved perceptions of participating in clinical trials were achieved after participation in a community-based intervention. This intervention may provide a framework by which to facilitate clinical trial participation among Black men, which must be made a priority so that Black men are “more than just a number” and no longer “receiving the short end of the stick”.

Keywords: black men; clinical trial participation; medical mistrust; community-based participatory research; health equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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