News & Activities
Methodology Monday February Roundup
For the next couple of weeks, #MethodologyMonday will focus on socioeconomic disadvantage as a barrier to inclusion in clinical trials.
Florez, Botto & Kim developed a list of 14 general and targeted strategies for recruitment and enrolment in clinical trials, particularly for those with socioeconomic disadvantages, which were included in a survey sent to sites, both non-profit/ governmental and for-profit, across the US. They found that compared to non-profit/governmental sites, for-profit sites more often employed techniques that increase the enrolment of socioeconomically disadvantaged participants.
In this #MethodologyMonday article by McDonald et al, a systematic review of the reporting of socioeconomic factors in intervention trials for men, which report weight as an outcome, was undertaken. They found that the most common characteristics included on the subject were educational attainment, working status and area level of deprivation, with a portion of trials reporting no such characteristics. They conclude that greater consideration of socio-economic factors is necessary to better inform public health policy.
This #MethodologyMonday article focuses on the involvement of under-served communities in health research. Contribution through patient and public involvement helps shape research and is now often a requirement for some funding agencies. In this review, developed with patient contributors, 3 key themes were identified for successful PPI with under-served groups: (relevance of) population, relationship building and practicalities.
Ref. Butt, A., Vaid, A., Taylor, R. et al. What approaches are used to facilitate people from under-served communities getting involved with health research? A public contributor led review. Res Involv Engagem 11, 141 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-025-00803-2.
