CVS Health has announced a collaborative effort to increase engagement from underrepresented communities in research studies throughout Georgia.
The company hopes that partnerships with community leaders and organizations will help to build trust and raise awareness within minority communities, while also addressing barriers to clinical trial participation such as child care, transportation and other social determinants of health.
Officials at CVS Health believe that having more people of color in studies will bring about better clinical trials results and help improve health for all.
According the CVS Health, 85% of the U.S. population lives within a 10-mile radius of a CVS pharmacy. Research sites within CVS Health’s clinical trial network are chosen based on how close they are to communities of color within metro areas.
“Diversity must be a journey that starts from within to recruit and educate people for their informed participation in clinical trials,” said Dr. Owen Garrick, chief medical officer for CVS Health Clinical Trial Services. Including a more diverse group of people in clinical trials, will increase the information used to make medications and treatments.
This is the latest addition to the growing state and nationwide effort to increase equity in health through the inclusion of a wider pool of participants in research.
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