Key Takeaways and Learnings
Clinical researchers have long relied on ads and financial incentives to recruit trial participants, but these approaches fall short when it comes to inclusion. Understanding how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials requires more than new tactics, however. It demands a shift toward authentic relationship-building with communities of color and other populations that are underrepresented in clinical research.
Conventional recruitment methods have tended to focus on casting a wide net—through ads, referrals, and monetary incentives. While these approaches can generate initial interest, they often fail to address the underlying barriers that prevent participation from communities of color and other underrepresented populations.
Many research organizations fall short not because of lack of effort but because the strategies they rely on aren’t designed to build lasting trust or relevance within diverse communities. Examples include:
These approaches often fall flat because they don’t acknowledge the complex factors that influence decisions to participate, particularly in communities that have experienced medical exploitation and systemic inequities in healthcare.
Figuring out how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials begins with recognizing that clinical research participation is based on trust. This requires building authentic relationships with community members, leaders, and organizations.
The most successful patient-centered recruitment strategies start with listening. Before developing any specific recruitment approach, organizations need to invest time into understanding the concerns, priorities, and communication preferences of the communities they hope to engage.
Affective trust develops through consistent, transparent communications that resonate with both community values and emotional connections. This means providing clear, culturally relevant information about procedures, while acknowledging risks, explaining how the research could benefit the community, and addressing historical concerns.
Community leaders are crucial bridges between research organizations and potential participants. Some organizations have started connecting with communities and their leaders by speaking at local community centers or houses of worship.
Effective partnerships with community leaders involve providing education about the research being conducted and its potential impact. It also means offering leaders the tools they need to answer questions from their community and ensuring that collaboration is ongoing rather than a one-time recruitment push.
Understanding how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials also involves addressing the practical barriers that often limit participation from communities of color. For example, many people can’t take time off work or pay for childcare. These challenges require innovative approaches to clinical trial design and implementation.
Research organizations can remove barriers by:
While decentralized trial technologies can increase accessibility, they must be implemented with consideration for digital divides and varying comfort levels with technology. Not every patient has access to a computer, smartphone, or Wi-Fi.
To integrate technology effectively, research teams should consider:
Acclinate recognizes that mastering how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials involves more than securing initial enrollment. It requires sustained engagement throughout the entire research process. Through our integrated solutions, NOWINCLUDED and e-DICT, we provide comprehensive support that builds affective trust and creates lasting community partnerships.
Before studies even begin, Acclinate works with research organizations to build and deploy campaigns that deliver culturally relevant education and drive awareness within underrepresented communities. Our NOWINCLUDED platform connects research organizations with communities of color through established networks of trust, while e-DICT provides real-time insights on community sentiment and engagement impact.
Throughout the research process, Acclinate engages underrepresented communities through trusted voices, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships. We identify actionable opportunities that strengthen diversity and inclusion initiatives for research organizations. These mid-trial strategies strengthen trust and encourage continued participation—setting the stage for long-term impact after studies conclude.
After studies wrap up, Acclinate supports research organizations in empowering underrepresented communities to drive better health outcomes and measuring success based on equitable access, diverse trial participation, and effective care delivery.
Acclinate partnered with Cencora’s Good Neighbor Pharmacy network to explore an innovative approach for how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials. This initiative positioned local pharmacists—the second-most-trusted healthcare providers after primary care doctors—as community ambassadors for clinical research education and engagement.
The program engaged 228 community members and uncovered striking disparities in clinical research awareness: Only 65.8% of Black American respondents knew about clinical trials, compared to 85.5% of White American respondents. And 8% of all participants had never been asked to participate in clinical research, revealing the untapped potential of pharmacy-based, patient-centered recruitment strategies in neighborhoods where people already visit monthly and that are within walking distance of their homes.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) disproportionately impacts Black and African American communities, yet their representation in clinical trials is limited. Acclinate’s 15-month partnership with a leading biotechnology company to reach these populations showcases how patient-centered recruitment strategies can achieve unprecedented impact through comprehensive community engagement. This initiative included dedicated lung health resources, 36 community events, and the presentation of trial opportunities to 8,620 NOWINCLUDED members.
The impact of the partnership was substantial. Over 1.2 million community members were reached with lung health education, more than 54,000 members engaged through omnichannel approaches, and 56% of respondents expressed willingness to participate in COPD research. About 40% of enrolled Black and African American participants came from this partnership, highlighting the power of deep community involvement to improve representation. This kind of connection, when sustained, strengthens both initial participation and long-term retention in representative clinical studies.
Learning how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials through relationship-driven strategies benefits research organizations far beyond individual study enrollment. Communities develop increased research literacy, greater trust in research, and an enhanced capacity to participate in future studies. Participants become advocates who can help recruit others and provide valuable feedback for improving research practices.
This approach also produces higher-quality data since participants who feel respected and supported are more likely to adhere to study protocols. The result is research that truly serves the communities it aims to help, creating a positive cycle of engagement and trust that advances health equity.
Retention in representative clinical studies becomes significantly more achievable when participants feel their community connections are valued and maintained throughout the research process, not just during initial recruitment phases.
It’s clear that traditional recruitment methods are not sufficiently reaching diverse patient populations. That’s why the path forward requires shifting toward relationship-driven engagement that prioritizes trust, cultural competency, and community partnership.
By the end of this decade, community-based clinical trials are expected to become the norm. But this transformation won’t happen overnight. Organizations that embrace patient-centered recruitment strategies earlier rather than later will be better positioned to conduct more inclusive, impactful research. This will help to boost not just recruitment numbers, but the quality of research and the strength of community partnerships that support ongoing discovery.
Understanding how to reach diverse patients for clinical trials is ultimately about recognizing that meaningful participation stems from genuine community engagement. By putting affective trust before cognitive trust, we build a stronger foundation for inclusive research and lasting health equity.
Ready for a walkthrough of how Acclinate can help you engage participants? Schedule a 1:1 meeting with our team.