Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • COMMENT

First, do no harm: a global perspective on diversity and inclusion in clinical trials

New requirements for clinical trial sponsors to submit diversity action plans to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are an important step to embed planning for diverse representation in clinical trial research. These must not, however, be implemented in ways that are detrimental to other countries’ health and research interests.
  1. Katharine Wright

    1. Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  2. Willyanne DeCormier Plosky

    1. Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  3. Hayat R. Ahmed

    1. Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  4. Sarah A. White

    1. Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  5. Barbara E. Bierer

    1. Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Global Healthy Equity, Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Introduction

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-024-00078-4

References

  1. Schwartz, A. L., Alsan, M., Morris, A. A. & Halpern, S. D. Why diverse clinical trial participation matters. N. Engl. J. Med. 388, 1252–1254 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Peters, U. et al. Considerations for embedding inclusive research principles in the design and execution of clinical trials. Ther. Innov. Regul. Sci. 57, 186–195 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Castellon-Lopez, Y. et al. A community-partnered approach for diversity in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. J. Clin. Transl Sci. 7, e23 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ioannidis, J. P. A., Powe, N. R. & Yancy, C. Recalibrating the use of race in medical research. JAMA 325, 623–624 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Using Population Descriptors in Genetics and Genomics Research: A New Framework for an Evolving Field (The National Academies Press, 2023).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links