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Methodology Monday August Roundup

31 Aug 2025

Looking for some summer reading? This #MethodologyMonday article includes a recent scoping review by Mishra et al on the use of equity, diversity and inclusion in clinical trials and more broadly clinical research. The review finds that while there exists a range of tools, frameworks and more that the larger adoption of such considerations is still scarce.

Ref. (Not available as open access) Mishra SR, Tan AC, Waller K, Lindley RI, Webster AC. Conceptualizing, operationalizing, and utilizing equity, diversity, and inclusion in clinical trials: a scoping review. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2025 Mar 1;179:111649.

In this #MethodologyMonday post, Rubagumya et al explore the impact of high-income countries enrolling patients from lower middle-income countries and upper middle-income countries on the bibliometric output. With data from 2007-2017 we see that there are many trials including such publics but their participation is not reflected in their bibliometric output.

Ref. Rubagumya F, Hopman WM, Gyawali B, Mukherji D, Hammad N, Pramesh CS, Zubaryev M, Eniu A, Tsunoda AT, Kutluk T, Aggarwal A. Participation of lower and upper middle–income countries in oncology clinical trials led by high-income countries. JAMA Network Open. 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2227252.

In keeping with the last article, this #MethodologyMonday by Goldstein et al is a scoping review of cluster randomised trials conducted exclusively in low- and middle-income countries. The findings suggest an existing inequity in authorship practices.

Ref. Goldstein CE, Marouf Y, Johri M, Shaw JF, Sergeant A, Nicholls SG, Althabe F, Ferrand RA, van der Graaf R, Hemming K, Mbuagbaw L. Systematic scoping review of cluster randomised trials conducted exclusively in low-income and middle-income countries between 2017 and 2022. BMJ open. 2024 Sep 1;14(9):e087724.

While we are delving into the discrepancies between countries in our #MethodologyMonday series, this piece by Dimitrova et al shares the perspectives of delegates from gynaecological research groups from across the world concerning the inclusion of underrepresented groups in clinical trials. They identified differences in perspectives across the different continents where barriers to such research are concerned. Other factors were also shown to impact the respondents’ answers.  The article concludes that there is a need for proactive policy changes and diversity-focused strategies.

Ref. Dimitrova D, Boer J, Karaman M, Bookman M, Brand A, O‘Donnell J, Oza A, Pothuri B, Bennett K, Sehouli J. Perspectives on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in clinical trials: findings from a 6-continent survey. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer. 2025 Feb 1;35(2):101625.