Improved Communication
Patients may not know that clinical trial participation can include medications and regular checkups, says Ms. McCalla. MIMICT materials will help physicians start conversations and answer patients’ questions.
“We hope to create better understanding among front-line lupus care providers about clinical trials through MIMICT. For lupus, in particular, it is mission-critical to encourage a more diverse patient population in our clinical trials,” she says.
Clinical trials offer many benefits to African American and Hispanic patients who may struggle to afford care for their complex disease, says Mr. Reed.
“If you can’t afford medications or physician visits, a trial may be one way to access that,” he says. Without more diverse enrollment in clinical trials, “you are really missing a big component of the lupus patient population.”
To learn more about MIMICT and download free materials to help you start conversations with your African American patients about clinical trial opportunities, visit http://thelupusinitiative.org/mimict. Learn more: [email protected].
Susan Bernstein is a freelance medical journalist based in Atlanta.
References
- Somers EC, Marder W, Cagnoli P, et al. Population-based incidence and prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus: The Michigan Lupus Epidemiology and Surveillance program. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014 Feb;66(2):369–378.
- Califf RM. 2016: The year of diversity in clinical trials. U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s FDA Voice. 2016 Jan.
- Wallace DJ. Belimumab: Where are we three years after FDA approval? Curr Treat Options in Rheum. 2015;1:42.
- Dialogues on diversifying clinical trials. Society for Women’s Health Research and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health. 2011 Sep.
