Taking an experimental drug is likely the first thing that comes to mind for most people who’ve never participated in human subjects research when the prospect of joining a clinical trial comes up. However, speakers who are getting ready to present a session at the ACRP 2026 conference in Orlando next April say that it’s important for research centers in any community—especially highly diverse and minority-rich communities—to consider offering other types of studies to the populations they serve to help foster trust in clinical trials.
For example, “Enrolling in a less complex study—such as a memory screening study or a sample study—introduces the idea of clinical research in communities where most people are not familiar with how clinical research studies work or have never been offered the opportunity to join one,” notes Judy Galindo, CCRC, Executive Director and Site Co-Owner at Sun Valley Research Center Inc. and Co-Founder of Latinos in Clinical Research. “Once you have them engaged in these types of studies, the barriers to research that sometime exist in these communities start breaking down, and people are more willing and open to considering other, more complex or investigational, drug studies.”
It’s also easier for researchers to start collaborating with various community organizations, physicians, and clinics with simpler types of study opportunities, adds Michelle Dowling, Site Manager for Sun Valley Research Center, based in Imperial, Calif., where 80% of the population is of Latino background. “This approach helps grow and develop a long-term relationship where it’s easier to integrate clinical research into a research-naïve physician’s office,” she says.
Galindo and Dowling will address these and related considerations in their session on “Community Engagement in Observational Studies for Rural and Small Sites” alongside several of their colleagues from Sun Valley, including Vanessa Nuño, Community Engagement Representative, and Rosalia Tanory, Pre-Screener/Recruiter. They will focus on real-world lessons learned from the center staff’s experience with an Alzheimer’s disease observational trial for which the site was one of the top three enrollers nationwide.
Community Engagement in Observational Studies for Rural and Small Sites
Join Judy, Michelle, Rosalia, and Vanessa at ACRP 2026 [April 24-27; Orlando, Fla.] as they share their experiences with an Alzheimer’s disease observational study that became a catalyst for broader community involvement. View complete schedule.
Many participants who have had positive experiences in non-drug studies at the center were eager to share details about them with others, which has resulted in the center successfully meeting recruitment goals with very little cost involved, the team reports. It’s a good tactic to have in one’s outreach toolkit for improving community engagement, defeating stigma, and improving health literacy, they say, especially considering how participation of minoritized populations in clinical trials has been traditionally lower than that of non-Hispanic Whites.
“This also goes to support the fact that, with our research staff being a constant presence in the community, value is added to our recruitment efforts from face-to-face communication with potential participants versus heavily relying on social media, paid advertising, or a database of patients,” Galindo says.
Edited by Gary Cramer
