A series of randomized trials of behavioral economic interventions to increase racial and ethnic diversity of research participants: Rationale and design of ITERATE
Top Things to Know
The study highlights the importance of tailored outreach strategies to increase participation among underrepresented groups. In the food is medicine context, similar strategies can be employed to ensure diverse populations engage in nutrition-based health programs, thereby improving health equity.
Utilizing principles from behavioral economics, such as framing and incentives, can significantly impact participation rates. Applying these principles to food is medicine programs can enhance their effectiveness by encouraging healthier eating habits and greater adherence to dietary recommendations.
By focusing on increasing the enrollment of Black and Hispanic individuals, the study addresses disparities in clinical research participation. In the food is medicine context, ensuring that nutrition interventions reach and benefit diverse populations is crucial for reducing health disparities and promoting overall public health.
Summary of Conclusion/Findings
This paper describes the rationale and design of the ITERATE project, which consists of a series of four randomized clinical trials (RCTs) aimed at increasing the enrollment of Black and Hispanic individuals in clinical research. The trials test various outreach strategies informed by behavioral economics, including method of outreach (email vs. text message vs. both), source of outreach (research team vs. clinical team), message framing (appeal to altruism vs. social proof vs. control), and incentive structure (none vs. various financial incentives). The primary outcome is the enrollment fraction, defined as the number of participants who enroll divided by the total number contacted. The study aims to identify the most effective strategies for improving the representativeness of clinical trial populations, thereby enhancing the generalizability and fairness of research findings.