Essay --

Moving forward, strategies to enhance participation have been established by researchers to address the prominent needs of women participating in clinical trials.5 There is a need to understand special populations, their culture and past experiences within the healthcare community. Fears and mistrust usually are found to contrive from culture barriers and negative past experiences. Secondly, the establishment of community partnerships provides for effective communication. Strategies to link with communities must be based on the existing relationships between investigators and the communities to which participants are sought. A reconceptualization of the research process for underrepresented participants is necessary.5 Women with negative views towards the participation in research need to perceive involvement in clinical trials as a method for advancing women’s health. Promotion of research through existing relationships with leaders of the community and investigators creates a method of effective trust in the recruitment of participants from the community. Some research institutions have even drafted guidelines for the development and implementation of clinical trials for specific underrepresented communities. The guidelines promote active engagement of community partners in the study design and protocol of the study. Allowing community partners to have influence in the direction of the project to ensure original goals are adhered to appropriately. Highlighting the concept of research projects should be to benefit the community and community members should be involved in the interpretation of data. For the future, continuation of partnerships between community members and researchers after the project is completed is highly reco... ...through involvement in clinical studies. Ethical principles and guidelines must be unambiguous and help increase the advancement of women’s health through clinical trials not impede. Finally, efforts to acquire more information about women to improve women’s health will only result in dismay without strong ethical principles implemented for protection. Thus the establishment of ethical principles, by the support of the FDA and other organizations, will aid in improving the overall process of advancing women’s health by eliminating unethical events involving women and providing guidelines for the design of clinical trials specific to women. There is much to accomplish for the advancements in women’s health in the future, but new breakthroughs in science and innovations lie in the future with the identification of ethical challenges and the discovery of new solutions.