Health Equity Examples in Action: Clinical Research Success Stories

Distrust rooted in historical atrocities. Outdated methods for recruitment and retention. Barriers to access and transportation. Clinical trial sponsors have a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to mobilize and include participants from communities of color successfully.  

But improvement is possible, and taking actionable steps to include historically marginalized communities in clinical trials can have a dramatic effect on health equity. Examples from contract research organizations (CROs) and other trial sponsors that have worked with Acclinate show that genuine and long-term outreach to communities of color can help support improved relationships and better participation rates. 

Key ingredients of improving health equity in clinical trials 

Though every clinical trial is different, participants should represent the people who will use the medical product. Efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among participants from communities of color should focus on five goals. 

• Address systemic issues that have historically limited participation from communities of color, rather than viewing inclusion as a “box to check” in clinical trial design. 
• Build affective trust to engage with communities of color on an emotional level, which makes it easier to build long-lasting connections in the communities trial sponsors intend to serve. 
• Engage with the community and form authentic partnerships with organizations that communities of color trust, both at local and national levels. 
• Work with participants directly, giving them an opportunity to amplify lived experiences as patients with chronic conditions – and to be compensated for their contributions to clinical research.  
• Provide meaningful incentives beyond direct compensation, such as vouchers for food, transportation, and childcare, to help address non-clinical barriers to onsite trial participation. 

Technology’s role in advancing health equity in clinical trials  

One common theme among examples of health equity improvement is the deployment of clinical research software to increase diversity. e-DICT, Acclinate's analytics platform, provides real-time reporting on community access and engagement activities, as well as insights into potential clinical trial participants. NOWINCLUDED, Acclinate’s community platform, scales health resources, community connections, and shared stories. These tech and touch platforms can enable omnichannel targeted outreach, track engagement activities, and identify individuals who may be interested in participating in a trial. 

Acclinate’s NOWINCLUDED and e-DICT solutions work in tandem to make this possible. NOWINCLUDED provides clinical trial sponsors with access to disease-specific communities of color — groups where individuals are actively engaged in their health and participate in focus groups, receive support, and benefit from education materials. 

Acclinate’s analytics platform e-DICT, meanwhile, has three key features that yield successful health equity examples. It aggregates engagement data across in-person and digital activities, providing a holistic view. It displays the results of engagements, so sponsors can modify their efforts as needed. Critically, it uses a proprietary algorithm to assign a participation probability index to each individual, helping trial sponsors focus their efforts on those highly motivated to participate.  

Together, NOWINCLUDED and e-DICT bridge health equity gaps often seen in traditional clinical trial recruitment. Outreach efforts may be able to target communities of color across multiple channels, but sponsors often lack the means to track overall effectiveness of outreach or follow potential participants through the recruitment funnel. On the other hand, when robust analytics are available, they often apply to a single engagement channel and fail to offer a longitudinal view of where to find potential participants. Acclinate puts omnichannel outreach and analytics in one solution, providing trial sponsors with unprecedented access to communities of color and insight into who’s willing to engage.  

5 examples of health equity in action from Acclinate  

Late last year, Merk announced it would leverage Acclinate NOWINCLUDED and e-DICT as part of its initiative to increase participation in oncology clinical studies among communities of color. In a statement, Merck highlighted Acclinate’s ability to raise awareness of clinical trials and engage with communities of color. 

The following case studies from a wide range of clinical disciplines showcase Acclinate’s ability to address health equity in clinical trials for CROs and other trial sponsors. 

1. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination. RSV infection is one of healthcare’s most prominent health equity examples because the RSV season has the most prolonged duration in communities of color. A CRO seeking to recruit participants for an RSV vaccine trial partnered with Acclinate to build awareness among seniors in communities of color. Acclinate distributed approved digital ads in targeted geographic areas, and 27 non-White participants (out of 120) enrolled in the trial in just two months.
2. Maternal and fetal health. Across a 12-month period, over 18,000 individuals engaged with maternal health resources through the NOWINCLUDED platform. Through these engagements, Acclinate and its partner learned that more than 45% of the NOWINCLUDED maternal health circle was willing to participate in clinical research — and that 51% of individuals were unwilling to travel more than 10 miles for maternal care. 
3. Infant nutrition. New mothers in communities of color are more likely to face barriers to breastfeeding. Despite employing traveling nurses in 12 cities, the sponsor of an organic infant formula trial faced challenges to recruiting diverse participants. Acclinate developed custom marketing materials and digital content for the trial sponsor, achieving more than 93,000 unique impressions and a 42% increase in participant screenings in just 60 days. 
4. Alzheimer’s disease. Lightship sought a more diverse participant pool for its Phase 3 clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease. In partnering with Acclinate, the virtual-first CRO pre-screened 164 potential participants in just four months — nearly 4x as many individuals as the CRO had screened in the previous year. Lightship also achieved a more than 2x increase in individuals who expressed an interest in participating.  

Advance health equity in clinical trials with Acclinate 

While some trial sponsors encounter difficulties when addressing health equity, examples of successful initiatives to increase trial participation in communities of color are out there. As these case studies show, Acclinate’s holistic approach to inclusion coupled with the right technology to target motivated individuals can deliver trial sponsors meaningful results.  

Advance your health equity initiatives with Acclinate’s signature approach that combines community-building and predictive analytics. To learn more about Acclinate’s real-world impact, schedule a 1:1 meeting with our team.