scholarly journals Why African Americans Say “No”: A Study of Pharmacogenomic Research Participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Nooruddin ◽  
Courtney Scherr ◽  
Paula Friedman ◽  
Ramesh Subrahmanyam ◽  
Jeff Banagan ◽  
...  

Objective: To identify reasons for nonpar­ticipation by African Americans in cardio­vascular pharmacogenomic research.Design: Prospective, open-ended, qualita­tive survey.Setting: Research staff approached patients eligible for the Discovery Project of The African American Cardiovascular pharma­cogenomics CONsorTium in the inpatient or outpatient setting at four different institu­tions during September and October 2018.Participants: Potential Discovery Proj­ect participants self-identified as African American, aged >18 years, were on one of five cardiovascular drugs of interest, and de­clined enrollment in the Discovery Project.Methods: After declining participation in the Discovery Project, patients were asked, “What are your reasons for not participat­ing?” We analyzed their responses using a directed content analytic approach. Ultimately, responses were coded into one of nine categories and analyzed using descriptive statistics.Main Outcome Measures: Reasons for nonparticipation.Results: Of the 194 people approached for the Discovery Project during an eight-week period, 82 declined participation and provided information for this study. The most common reason for refusal was concern about the amount of blood drawn (19.5%). The next most common reasons for refusal to participate included concerns about genetic testing (14.6%) and mistrust of research (12.2%). Across study sites, significantly more patients enrolled in the inpatient than outpatient setting (P<.001). Significantly more women and younger individuals declined participation due to concerns about genetic testing and too little compensation (P<.05).Conclusions: Collection of blood samples and concerns about genetic testing are ob­stacles for the recruitment of African Ameri­cans to pharmacogenomics studies. Efforts to overcome these barriers to participation are needed to improve representation of minorities in pharmacogenomic research. Enrolling participants from inpatient populations may be a solution to bolster recruitment efforts.Ethn Dis. 2020;30(Suppl 1):159-166; doi:10.18865/ed.30.S1.159

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine J. Barrett ◽  
Kearston L. Ingraham ◽  
Tracey Vann Hawkins ◽  
Patricia G. Moorman

<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To examine barriers recruiters encounter when enrolling African American study participants, identify motivating factors to increase research participation, and provide recommendations to facilitate successful minority recruitment. </p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Recruiters are often the first point of contact between the research study and potential African American participants. While challenges in enrolling African Americans into clinical and epidemiologic research has been reported in numerous studies the non-physician recruiter’s role as a determinant of overall participation rates has received minimal attention. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted four 90-minute teleconference focus groups with 18 recruiters experienced in enrolling African Americans for clinical and epidemiologic studies at five academic/medical institutions. Participants represented diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and were asked to reflect on barriers preventing African Americans from participating in research studies, factors that motivated participation, and recommendations to increase participation of African Americans in research. Multi-coder and thematic data analysis was implemented using the Braun and Clarke method. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Prominent concerns in recruitment of African Americans in research include fear and mistrust and inflexible research protocols. The participants suggest that improved recruitment could be achieved through cross-cultural and skillset building training opportunities for recruiters, greater community engagement among researchers, and better engagement with clinic staff and research teams.</p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2017;27(4):453- 462; doi:10.18865/ed.27.4.453. </p>


Author(s):  
Leah Wright Rigueur

This chapter studies how, as the 1970s progressed, black Republicans were able to claim clear victories in their march toward equality: the expansion of the National Black Republican Council (NBRC); the incorporation of African Americans into the Republican National Committee (RNC) hierarchy; scores of black Republicans integrating state and local party hierarchies; and individual examples of black Republican success. African American party leaders could even point to their ability to forge a consensus voice among the disparate political ideas of black Republicans. Despite their ideological differences, they collectively rejected white hierarchies of power, demanding change for blacks both within the Grand Old Party (GOP) and throughout the country. Nevertheless, black Republicans quickly realized that their strategy did not reform the party institution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-84
Author(s):  
Betty Wilson ◽  
Terry A. Wolfer

In the last decade, there have been a shocking number of police killings of unarmed African Americans, and advancements in technology have made these incidents more visible to the general public. The increasing public awareness of police brutality in African American communities creates a critical and urgent need to understand and improve police-community relationships. Congregational social workers (and other social workers who are part of religious congregations) have a potentially significant role in addressing the problem of police brutality. This manuscript explores and describes possible contributions by social workers, with differential consideration for those in predominantly Black or White congregations.


Author(s):  
Richard Archer

Except in parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut, slavery was a peripheral institution, and throughout New England during and after the Revolution there was widespread support to emancipate slaves. Some of the states enacted emancipation laws that theoretically allowed slavery to continue almost indefinitely, and slavery remained on the books as late as 1857 in New Hampshire. Although the laws gradually abolished slavery and although the pace was painfully slow for those still enslaved, the predominant dynamic for New England society was the sudden emergence of a substantial, free African American population. What developed was an even more virulent racism and a Jim Crow environment. The last part of the chapter is an analysis of where African Americans lived as of 1830 and the connection between racism and concentrations of people of African descent.


Author(s):  
William L. Andrews

In this study of an entire generation of slave narrators, more than sixty mid-nineteenth-century narratives reveal how work, family, skills, and connections made for social and economic differences among the enslaved of the South. Slavery and Class in the American South explains why social and economic distinctions developed and how they functioned among the enslaved. Andrews also reveals how class awareness shaped the views and values of some of the most celebrated African Americans of the nineteenth century. Slave narrators discerned class-based reasons for violence between “impudent,” “gentleman,” and “lady” slaves and their resentful “mean masters.” Status and class played key roles in the lives and liberation of the most celebrated fugitives from US slavery, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, William Wells Brown, and William and Ellen Craft. By examining the lives of the most- and least-acclaimed heroes and heroines of the African American slave narrative, Andrews shows how the dividing edge of social class cut two ways, sometimes separating upper and lower strata of slaves to their enslavers’ advantage, but at other times fueling convictions among even the most privileged of the enslaved that they deserved nothing less than complete freedom.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Wolterstorff

The chapter begins by briefly taking note of various ways in which Christian liturgical enactments are related to the doing of justice. Attention then turns to the fact that at the heart of the biblical story is an appalling case of the perversion of justice. Christians worship one who was unjustly crucified. The chapter employs The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by the African-American theologian James Cone, to bring to light some of the implications of this fact. Cone notes that Christ’s crucifixion is central in African-American preaching and hymnody, and that the pain and injustice of the crucifixion are highlighted rather than concealed because African-Americans identify with Jesus in his pain and as a victim of injustice. After noting that the pain and injustice of Christ’s crucifixion are veiled in most liturgies, the chapter concludes by asking whether they should not instead be highlighted.


Author(s):  
Anthony B. Pinn

This chapter explores the history of humanism within African American communities. It positions humanist thinking and humanism-inspired activism as a significant way in which people of African descent in the United States have addressed issues of racial injustice. Beginning with critiques of theism found within the blues, moving through developments such as the literature produced by Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, and others, to political activists such as W. E. B. DuBois and A. Philip Randolph, to organized humanism in the form of African American involvement in the Unitarian Universalist Association, African Americans for Humanism, and so on, this chapter presents the historical and institutional development of African American humanism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 506-506
Author(s):  
Rodlescia Sneed

Abstract African-Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Longer prison stays and release programs for older prisoners may result in an increased number of community-dwelling older adults with a history of incarceration. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research on health-related outcomes for currently incarcerated older adults; however, there has been little inquiry into outcomes for formerly incarcerated African-American older adults following community re-entry. In this study, we used secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study to describe employment, economic, and health-related outcomes in this population. Twelve percent of the 2238 African-Americans in our sample had been previously incarcerated. Those who had been previously incarcerated had higher rates of lung disease, arthritis, back problems, mobility problems, and mental health issues than their counterparts. They also had higher rates of hospitalization and lower use of dental health services. Further, while they did not experience lower employment rates than those with no criminal history, those who had been incarcerated had more physically demanding jobs and reported greater economic strain. Given the disproportionate incarceration rates among African-Americans, the aging of the prison population, and the increase in community re-entry for older prisoners, research that explores factors that impact the health and well-being of formerly incarcerated individuals has broad impact. Future work should focus on addressing the needs of this vulnerable population of African-American older adults.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110127
Author(s):  
Sandra Yaklin ◽  
Miyong Kim ◽  
Jacklyn Hecht

Using a narrative approach, this study explored how African American men became mental health advocates. This ancillary study is part of a formative within an ongoing community based intervention program that was designed to promote mental health of African Americans (AMEN) project within an ongoing community based intervention program that was designed to promote mental health of African Americans (AMEN) project. Narrative research techniques were used to analyze and synthesize the data. Analysis generated one major theme (interdependence) with four supporting sub-themes (credibility, social depression, stigma, and calling). These findings and insights through this qualitative study guided the AMEN project team to formulate effective communication strategies in establishing working relationships with community partners and wider stakeholders as well as crafting culturally tailored messages for African American participants.


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