CLINICAL TRIALS & RESEARCH
Resources

Toward a National Action Plan for Achieving Diversity in Clinical Trials

Framework

Presented on: May 6, 2024

Racial and ethnic minorities comprise a significant portion of the U.S. population, yet their representation in clinical trials remains disproportionately low. Addressing this disparity is crucial for equitable healthcare outcomes. Despite recent legislative efforts to improve diversity in clinical trials, and many individual organizational efforts, a national plan to include diverse patients does not exist.

The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI)Milken Institute’s FasterCures, and the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center), and the National Academies Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation coordinated a series of three convenings (June, September, and November 2023) to inform the publication of a National Action Plan to increase diversity in clinical trials. This national action, which includes eight domains and action steps intended to drive system-wide collective action, is now available here. 

Please note, the 4th [hybrid] meeting in this series, entitled “Toward a Framework to Improve Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials,” will be hosted by NASEM in Washington DC on May 20. You can find out more information and register here. This workshop will build on the National Action Plan. We will be focusing on commitment to strategies for equitable participation and innovative trial design to support community investment, engagement, and workforce development.

Related Resources