April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Latinas' Perspectives on Donating Healthy Breast Tissue: Implications for Recruitment Methods and Messaging
Background & Objective:
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Latinas in the United States; however, researchers do not use recruitment messaging focused on increasing Latina participation, a lapse clearly demonstrated by Latinos accounting for only 1.3% of cancer-related clinical trial participants. The barriers preventing Latina research participation has been well-established, but there are few studies who focus on the motivations of Latinas who have previously been involved in clinical trial research. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of Latinas’ decisions to participate in a preventative breast cancer clinical trial and to propose future recruitment methods based upon their responses.
Methods:
Twenty women (N= 20) who self-identified as Latina or Hispanic were interviewed to learn more about their reasoning and motivations in deciding to donate their healthy breast tissue for medical research. Each transcribed interview was coded using thematic analysis through the framework of constructivist grounded theory.
Results:
Findings revealed three primary themes: (1) participants viewed bilingual recruitment materials and personnel on the research team as important motivators to participate, (2) participants viewed the knowledge of their underrepresentation in medical research AND the knowledge that their participation may help future Latinas as reasons to participate, and (3) negative feedback from family or friends regarding their research participation did not cause them to reconsider their decision to donate.
Conclusions:
Understanding the motivations of Latinas who have participated in cancer-related clinical trials can help researchers create targeted recruitment messaging. Recruitment messaging must be bilingual, acknowledge the underrepresentation of Latinas in clinical trial research, and emphasize that participation in research can improve the health of future Latinas. Increasing cancer-related clinical trial participation in this population may decrease health disparities for Latinas in the United States.
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Latinas in the United States; however, researchers do not use recruitment messaging focused on increasing Latina participation, a lapse clearly demonstrated by Latinos accounting for only 1.3% of cancer-related clinical trial participants. The barriers preventing Latina research participation has been well-established, but there are few studies who focus on the motivations of Latinas who have previously been involved in clinical trial research. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of Latinas’ decisions to participate in a preventative breast cancer clinical trial and to propose future recruitment methods based upon their responses.
Methods:
Twenty women (N= 20) who self-identified as Latina or Hispanic were interviewed to learn more about their reasoning and motivations in deciding to donate their healthy breast tissue for medical research. Each transcribed interview was coded using thematic analysis through the framework of constructivist grounded theory.
Results:
Findings revealed three primary themes: (1) participants viewed bilingual recruitment materials and personnel on the research team as important motivators to participate, (2) participants viewed the knowledge of their underrepresentation in medical research AND the knowledge that their participation may help future Latinas as reasons to participate, and (3) negative feedback from family or friends regarding their research participation did not cause them to reconsider their decision to donate.
Conclusions:
Understanding the motivations of Latinas who have participated in cancer-related clinical trials can help researchers create targeted recruitment messaging. Recruitment messaging must be bilingual, acknowledge the underrepresentation of Latinas in clinical trial research, and emphasize that participation in research can improve the health of future Latinas. Increasing cancer-related clinical trial participation in this population may decrease health disparities for Latinas in the United States.