A Qualitative Study of Motivations for Minority Recruitment in Cancer Clinical Trials Across Five NCI-Designated Cancer Centers

Background: Minority enrollment in cancer clinical trials is traditionally low. In light of this fact, numerous studies have investigated barriers to recruitment and retention within minority populations. However, very little research has investigated the importance of clinicians’ and researchers’ motivations for minority recruitment in cancer clinical trials. Therefore, we sought to examine motivations for minority recruitment across four professional stakeholder groups (principal investigators, clinicians, research staff, and Cancer Center leaders) at five National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Methods: This study is based on the data from 91 qualitative interviews conducted across the five NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers to investigate stakeholders’ motivations for minority recruitment in cancer clinical trials. Results: Emergent themes include (a) minority recruitment increases generalizability of cancer clinical trials, (b) minority recruitment is motivated by social justice, (c) some institutions promote minority recruitment through the use of supplemental financial support, (d) federal funding requirements for minority inclusion in clinical research motivate investigators to focus on minority recruitment, and (e) some stakeholders favor a more race-neutral approach to participant recruitment rather than an emphasis on targeted minority recruitment. Conclusion: The perspectives of clinical and research stakeholders potentially inform the assessment of existing strategies and the development of new strategies to increase motivation for minority recruitment in cancer clinical trials.