What motivates minorities to participate in research?

This study investigates factors that facilitate and impede minority participation in medical and scientific research studies. Four focus group sessions involving 18 participants aged 18 to 55 years were conducted. Participants, all members of minority groups, were asked a series of questions about why minorities in the Twin Cities area might or might not participate in medical research. Focus group participants indicated they would be willing to participate as research subjects if study findings were shored with them and their primary care physician and if results would benefit their community. Participants cited 4 major barriers to their participation in research: limited knowledge of health studies, mistrust of researchers, limited community involvement in the design of health studies, and use of invasive procedures. Results from this study suggest that researchers seeking to include minority subjects need to use more participatory or community-centered approaches to research.