With so many unknowns when it comes to Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers continue to investigate potential causes, risk factors, and treatments. Clinical trials are a major tool to help researchers make progress. These are studies with volunteers that enable advances that can slow, manage, and treat diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s for current and future family members. However, these trials only benefit everyone if they have a pool of participants that look like the rest of the population. For many reasons, including myths, lack of access to transportation, and time commitments, too few under-researched populations join clinical trials. But closing the gap on clinical trial participation doesn’t have to be a burden. Here are 3 clinical ...
How can we help our abuelos and other loved ones who are dealing with Alzheimer's disease? Clinical trials! These are studies with volunteers that help researchers learn more to help slow, manage, and treat Alzheimer’s for current and future family members. But without volunteers for clinical trials, the benefits may miss certain groups. That's why Salud America! is joining the San Antonio Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Population Aging and Social Studies (CAPAS). CAPAS will unite researchers from UT San Antonio, the Center for Brain Health, the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, and others. Community Impact, a local news agency across Texas, featured the effort in an article and interviewed Dr. Amelie G. ...
Yolanda “Yoli” Barrera Day wasn’t aware she had stomach cancer. Not very many do because from a health standpoint, stomach cancer looks like any other gastrointestinal ailment. But for Yoli, stomach cancer preyed on her advancing age. After months of suffering from symptoms such as extreme fatigue and shortness of breath, Yoli was diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma. It was a diagnosis that most may deem a death sentence, but not Yoli. Yoli was determined to make it out the other side and help others do the same by becoming a health leader and supporter for change.
Deceptive Symptoms Hiding Stomach Cancer
It was early 2021 and Yoli was feeling more tired than usual. While the exhaustion was draining, it wasn’t enough to raise ...
There is a lot that goes into starting a clinical or population research study. In fact, many of these studies can take years to get off the ground. Not to mention recruiting, which is a task in and of itself. Given the difficulties surrounding the rigorous process ahead of those embarking upon these studies, the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School is providing research study teams with a roadmap for research success. The Nuts and Bolts of Executing a Clinical or Population Research Study is a virtual series that helps lay the groundwork and give researchers the tools to make a positive impact in healthcare. Update: After a successful program, the virtual program is offering more opportunities to make an impact. Check out these upcoming ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
The NCI Community Oncology Research Program: Opportunities to Increase Latino Participation in Clinical Trials
Dr. Brenda Adjei is Associate Director of the HDRP at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research. The NCI Community Oncology Research Program Dr. Adjei’s presentation began with a discussion of Latino participation in cancer clinical trials. Variety in clinical trials is critically important because it generates biomedical knowledge relevant to all, builds trust and trustworthiness, and contributes to reductions in health gaps and fair research participation. Current limits in clinical research is due to multilevel hurdles and requires tailored, ...
In 2024, an estimated 195,300 cancer cases will be diagnosed in U.S. Latinos, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanic/Latino People 2024-2026. This makes it important that cancer treatments work for Latinos. Clinical trials – studies with volunteers that explore ways to find, prevent, and treat diseases, like cancer – are a treatment option that could help people. With clinical trial participation in mind, Dr. Eneida Nemecek and her team at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute created Proyecto Mi Opción, a series of Spanish-language videos that tackle different cancer-related topics. Watch the videos!
The Lack of Latinos in Clinical Trial Research
Latinos face several challenges when it comes to cancer including access to ...
As a child in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Dr. Eneida Nemecek learned the effort it takes to earn an education by literally going to college with her parents as they sought their degrees. “My parents are very young. I kind of went to college with both of them in the back of the classroom,” Nemecek said. “My dad ended up going to graduate school, also when I was still a little kid. We went to law school with him, too.” Nemecek followed her parents’ footsteps and eventually got her doctoral degree. Today she’s helping improve Latino health through clinical trial participation as associate director for clinical research at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute and professor of pediatrics and medical oncology at OHSU.
Developing a Passion for ...
Our collaborative bilingual video that focuses on Latino participation in clinical trials was a "Silver Winner" at both the 2024 W³ Awards and the 45th Annual Telly Awards! The video, created by Genentech with help from the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, shows why Latino participation in clinical trials is important for the future of clinical research. Clinical trials are studies with volunteers that can help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat different cancer and disease. “The lack of Latinos in clinical trials makes it hard for researchers to develop new treatments for this group, which suffers a heavy burden of cancer,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute ...
Latinos and other group that experience health differences are frequently left out in spine pain clinical trials, according to an analysis from eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The study, published by National Institute of Health and funded by the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, found a lack of participation among vulnerable populations and other overlooked groups. Let’s look further into the data and how it impacts Latinos.
Participation in Clinical Trials on Spinal Pain
The analysis points out that, while RCTs are considered the gold standard study design for evaluating treatment effectiveness, they can suffer from generalizability issues. In other words, the findings of these studies can’t be generalized to the U.S. population because ...
