The application of quality improvement concepts, strategies, and tools to enhance participation in clinical trials among Latino families

Abstract

Underrepresentation of people from racial and ethnic minoritized groups in clinical trials threatens external validity of clinical and translational science, diminishes uptake of innovations into practice, and restricts access to the potential benefits of participation. Despite efforts to increase diversity in clinical trials, children and adults from Latino backgrounds remain underrepresented. Quality improvement concepts, strategies, and tools demonstrate promise in enhancing recruitment and enrollment in clinical trials. To demonstrate this promise, we draw upon our team’s experience conducting a randomized clinical trial that tests three behavioral interventions designed to promote equity in language and social-emotional skill acquisition among Latino parent–infant dyads from under-resourced communities. The recruitment activities took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified the need for responsive strategies and procedures. We used the Model for Improvement to achieve our recruitment goals. Across study stages, we engaged strategies such as (1) intentional team formation, (2) participatory approaches to setting goals, monitoring achievement, selecting change strategies, and (3) small iterative tests that informed additional efforts. These strategies helped our team overcome several barriers. These strategies may help other researchers apply quality improvement tools to increase participation in clinical and translational research among people from minoritized groups.

Keywords

• Latinos
• recruitment
• quality improvement
• clinical trials
• disparities