Black parents distrust medical research

United States, February 7: Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh state that the degree of parental distrust toward medical research was significantly greater among African American parents which acted as a barrier for enrollment in clinical research.

The team surveyed 190 parents (140 black, 50 white) who brought their children to a primary-care clinic. The objective was to assess and compare the attitudes and trust that African American and white parents have toward their children participating in research.

As a part of the research, the parents were questioned about their attitudes towards their children’s medical care, beliefs about medical research, and how incentives, such free medical care would influence their decision to allow their child to participate in research.

The study revealed that most black parents distrusted medical research (67 percent vs. 50 percent).

Majority believe that doctors prescribe medications as a means of experimentations on naive patients (40 percent vs. 28 percent).

Most consider that medical research endangers participant’s life (46.8 percent vs. 26 percent).

African American parents believe that doctors will not disclose vital information regarding their child's participation (24.6 percent vs. 10 percent).

And lastly they think that research participants are recommended medical care (48.6 percent vs. 28 percent).

Another aspect highlighted by the research was that less education and more children in a household was significantly associated with greater parental distrust. The level of mistrust was 74 percent higher in those with a high school education, compared to 44 percent of college graduates.

Dr. Kumaravel Rajakumar of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Children’s session Hospital of Pittsburgh, said “Our data indicates that African-American parents with higher levels of distrust are less likely to enroll their children in clinical examination. Additionally, traditional incentives [monetary compensation and spontaneous healing art,transportation and of the healing art have being troubled] did not overcome the obstacle of distrust in them.”

The researchers feel that the "distrust may be attributed both to a cultural memory of victimization and exploitation during clinical experiments, such as in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and to personal experiences with discrimination." They were referring to the government sponsored Tuskegee Study, in which necessary drugs were purposely withheld so the "natural" course of the disease could be observed.

According to researchers, the measures for overcoming the level of distrust in African American parents can be accomplished by ensuring adequate representation of their children in clinical research. Also help of research assistants from similar racial and cultural backgrounds would be an advantage. Setting up of community research advisory boards would also pay rich dividends.

The findings appear in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.