Attitudes and perceptions of AIDS clinical trials group site coordinators on HIV clinical trial recruitment and retention: a descriptive study

HIV-seropositive blacks, Hispanics, women of all ethnicities, and injection drug users (IDUs) have low rates of clinical trial participation. The opinions of research nurses and study coordinators as potential facilitators and barriers to access to clinical trials may contribute to this disparity. Study coordinators and research nurses from the adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) clinical trials units responded to an anonymous computer-based survey comprising multiple choice questions and clinical scenarios. Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequencies of responses. Recruitment rates of blacks, Hispanics, women and IDUs were mostly rated appropriate compared with the geographic region demographics. Most sites ranked white men as being the most interested in clinical trials. Sites rated their most effective interactions were with white men. Respondents felt they were less likely to enroll individuals who had missed previous clinical appointments or did not speak English. Perceptions that IDUs, Hispanics, blacks, and, to a lesser extent, women had less interest in clinical trials participation than white males may affect recruitment of the targeted populations. Interventions to improve interactions with targeted populations and to remove logistical and language barriers may improve the diversity of clinical trial participants.