Improving Multicultural Engagement in Clinical Research through Partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers and Community Health Worker Programs

SUMMARY: It is critical to health equity to include people from different racial and ethnic communities as clinical trial participants. Currently, there is a large difference in participation in clinical trials by race and ethnicity with minority populations significantly underrepresented. Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCS) are the largest network of primary care providers serving underrepresented communities and research shows that providers must be part of successful research participant recruitment. Additionally, FQHCs commonly utilize Community Health Workers (CHWs) in these communities to increase engagement with the healthcare system. Our proposed work looks to leverage this established infrastructure and trust at three diverse FQHCs in North Carolina. Stakeholder feedback will be obtained through surveys and focus groups and applied to the development of interactive curricula. FQHC providers and CHWs will utilize these curricula to increase their awareness and acceptance of clinical trial participation and allow them to disseminate knowledge to the communities they serve.