Site-Supporting Diversity Initiative Selects First Sites
Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED), a program aimed at building up the clinical research capabilities of sites in historically underrepresented communities, has chosen the initial four of 10 sites that will be teamed up with different participating universities.
Using a custom-fitted approach for each site and a “site maturity assessment model” developed to help sites figure out their trial goals and capabilities and track their progress, the program, led by the Morehouse School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, aims to improve clinical research diversity in areas with minority populations.
Specifically, the program helps improve awareness of trials, address misinformation and alleviate mistrust while making trials easier to access for underrepresented groups.
The first four partnerships, all located in the South, are:
- Morehouse School of Medicine and Grady Health System in Atlanta, Ga.
- Yale School of Medicine and Medical University of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.
- Research Centers in Minority Institutions Coordinating Center at Morehouse School of Medicine and Texas Southern University in Houston and University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.
Support for sites under the program may range from cultivating collaborations with community leaders and groups and bolstering site technology and infrastructure to offering funding for site staff, according to EQBMED, which is being funded by PhRMA.
“There are myriad challenges to overcome if we want to address the racial and economic disparities in clinical trials and healthcare. Moreover, communities of color are not a monolith, so we cannot expect any two sites to require the same solutions,” said Peter Embi, professor and chair of biomedical informatics and medicine and senior vice president for research and innovation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Read more about the program here.