Rutgers Hopes $3.6 Million Will Convince Minority Adults to Participate in Medical Research

Rutgers University aims to widen the scope of its study of older minority adults to better understand the effects of Alzheimer's, dementia, and cancer on that population, using a $3.6 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), reports the North Jersey Record . "New Jersey ranks among the top states in the country for overall health, but it is also among the worst in health equity," said XinQi Dong with the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. Dramatic underenrollment of ethnic and racial minorities in cancer treatment studies was reported in an earlier study, reducing the utility of research findings because these populations are most affected by cancer. Aging, low-income, and rural communities also face substantial hindrances to clinical participation. The NIH grant will be used to educate and engage older adults in Hispanic, African-American, and Asian communities, and help scientists understand the obstacles and challenges to research participation among these populations. Dong noted trust between researchers and older minority participants has long been a major barrier to participation, and the grant will enable the collaboration to design research study approaches that overcome linguistic and cultural barriers.